A number of cricketers and members of the public "rushed to help immediately" when a falling tree struck a group of children. Emergency services were scrambled to Chalkwell Park on Saturday afternoon (June 28) following reports of a serious incident.
Six ambulances, three ambulance officer vehicles, the London Air Ambulance, and Kent Air Ambulance were sent to the scene. Essex Police officers and firefighters also attended the scene after five children suffered injuries.
A girl aged seven died after the incident. Another girl, six, is said to be in a critical condition. Three more children received hospital treatment for minor injuries. Several people saw the incident and rushed to try and lift the tree, a witness said.
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A member of Old Brentwoods Cricket Club, who asked to remain anonymous, was playing against Westcliff Cricket Club when the tree fell. He told The Express of helping, along with other members of the public, two trapped girls, and the sound of a woman wailing and screaming for around half an hour.
The man, who was fielding when he saw some of his teammates head in the direction of the incident, said: "They heard a snap, bang, and then they heard a woman just wail and scream. I'm guessing it was one of the girl's mums. She was screaming for about half an hour. Everyone could hear her scream. That's why they went over to see what was happening."
He added: "Everyone just got their hands on it, and we managed to move it quite quick. It's just crazy. I'm not good with words, so I don't know how to say it. I've got two girls. That was what I was thinking of at the time. I saw the little girl underneath the tree and straight away, I was like she's going to be no older than my oldest girl."
The man continued: "It just felt like something you see in the news, you know when like a building collapses and people are pulling a kid out of the rubble. There was a lot of females watching and they were just crying. Even some men were crying, I'm not going to lie."
Adam Hutchins, 47, told EssexLive: “I heard there were kids playing on the tree. They heard a big crack. It must have been pretty loud. They went running over and there were kids underneath the tree. All the cricket guys ran over and tried to lift the tree up. I think it’s one of the oldest trees. It had metal stands propping it up.”
Another witness told the Daily Mail he would "never forget the screams" of the children involved. He described seeing a tree "split and fall to the ground".
Chief Superintendent Leighton Hammett of Essex Police said: “Families are facing unimaginable hardship this evening, and all of our thoughts are with them at this time. I cannot begin to put into words how difficult today’s events have been, and continue to be, for them.
“It’s also not lost on me how traumatic it must have been for the members of the public who witnessed this awful incident. Across a matter of moments, many of them went from enjoying the warm summer weather to rushing to the aid of strangers without a second thought. They showed the best of Southend today, and I’m sorry this update does not bring them more positive news.
“My officers, and our partners with the ambulance and fire service, did all they could to help the two injured children. Today’s loss is one they will all take personally. We will ensure support is in place for all of our emergency service responders who provided aid at the scene.”
