TWO RIVERS, WI (WTAQ) - Officials say five kids on a school field trip were hurt Wednesday afternoon when a tree fell on them at Woodland Dunes Nature Center.
The call went out around 12:30 p.m. for a report of the children being trapped under a tree.
Two Rivers firefighters say the students from Bethany Lutheran School in Manitowoc were sitting on a bench along one of the trails when a roughly 20 foot tall rotten willow tree stump fell over.
FOX 11 reports that all 5 kids went to the hospital, one with a serious head injury.
According to Bethany Lutheran School’s calendar, a 4th grade field trip to the nature center was scheduled for Wednesday April 1.
“This afternoon there was an accident involving a tree that fell and injured several students that were visiting Woodland Dunes as part of our maple syrup program,” said Woodland Dunes Nature Center and Preserve Executive Director James Knickelbine, in a statement posted to the nature center’s Facebook page.
Knickelbine says the “situation” is being investigated and in 40 years of providing environmental education programming to about 100,000 school children, “This is the first time that an accident of this type has occurred. We are deeply sorry that students were injured, and wish them and their families all the best for a speedy recovery.”
(Additional reporting from FOX 11).