A woman visiting a Christmas market in Belgium was killed by a falling Christmas tree brought down by a sudden gust of wind.
The 63-year-old, who has not been named, was at the Christmas market in the town of Oudenaarde late Thursday evening, four days before Christmas, when a storm hit, bringing gale force winds and knocking over the 65-foot tree, weighing an estimated five tons.
The woman was resuscitated by paramedics at the scene but succumbed to her injuries at a hospital, said town mayor Marnic de Meuelemeester. Two other women received minor injuries.
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According to local press reports, the incident is being investigated by the East Flanders Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The Antwerp-based newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws reported that the tree was chosen by town officials from a plantation in the Ardennes forest a month ago for the annual market, although the wrong tree was initially delivered.
Earlier on Thursday, the tree had started to tilt—“People even came to take photos like tourists do at the leaning Tower of Pisa,” the newspaper reported—before municipal workers righted it.
“The tree was standing firmly, but unexpectedly, there was very heavy rain and a local gust with wind force 6,” De Meulemeester said, according to The Brussels Times news website. “As a result, the tree fell over near a Christmas market where many people were present.”
The Christmas market was immediately called off for the year.
