“Natural events happen that we don’t expect. This appears to be one of those cases,” Wayland Fire Chief Neil McPherson said
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NEED TO KNOW
- A child and a camp counselor were injured after a tree branch fell at YMCA Camp Chickami in Massachusetts
- The child was airlifted to a regional trauma center with life-threatening injuries, while the counselor was hospitalized locally
- The camp closed following the incident as an investigation into the cause of the falling branch remains ongoing
A child was critically injured after a tree branch fell on him while attending a summer camp in Massachusetts.
Wayland Fire and Police Departments confirmed that first responders arrived to find a child suffering from life-threatening injuries at YMCA Camp Chickami at approximately 10:40 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 19. The name and age of the camper were not publicly released.
“It was a large tree that took down another tree, and it was kind of a domino effect that set off the whole thing,” Mark Hebert, Wayland’s acting police chief, said, WCVB reported.
“The child was hit by a large branch and the employee, one of the counselors here, was hit by a smaller branch,” Wayland Fire Chief Neil McPherson added.
“This is something highly unusual, but again, it’s a wooded area. Natural events happen that we don’t expect. This appears to be one of those cases,” McPherson continued.
The Wayland Fire and Police Departments said the camp counselor was transported to a local hospital by Weston Fire Ambulance.
Wayland Fire Ambulance took the child to a landing zone at Town Hall, and then transported them via medical helicopter to a regional trauma center.
YMCA Camp Chickami, which enrolls children up to 14 years old, is operated by the West Suburban YMCA.
“A camper was injured and has been transported by air ambulance to a nearby hospital,” Jack Fucci, president and CEO of West Suburban YMCA, said in a statement, per CBS Boston.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with this young camper and their family. We are providing support services to other campers and staff who were present during this accident, and will keep our camp community fully informed,” Fucci’s statement continued.
He also called the situation “a traumatic experience for everybody.”
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Following the incident, YMCA Camp Chickami closed for the remainder of the day on Tuesday, and will also remain closed on Wednesday, Aug. 19, according to reports.
An investigation into the incident remains ongoing.
“We’re going along with the investigation,” Fucci said, NBC Boston reported. “We have a lot to learn to see how something like this could happen and what were the circumstances.”
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