Adelaide woman killed by falling tree branch in freak accident

The tree branch that killed a 22-year-old woman in Adelaide parklands in a freak accident fell when the trunk “snapped at its base”.

The fallen tree branch that killed a young woman in Adelaide could have weighed as much as ten tonnes, a first responder has revealed.

The 22-year-old woman was sitting in the shade under the tree in the North Adelaide parklands when the large branch randomly snapped and dropped on top of her, killing her about 2.30pm on Wednesday.

Emergency services rushed to the scene at War Memorial Drive, opposite a childcare centre.

A freak accident has killed a woman in her 20s after a gum tree branch fell on top of her. Picture: 9News

The young woman was killed while sitting under a tree in the city park.

Declan Dwyer of the Metropolitan Fire Service said the branch likely weighed between eight and ten tonnes and fell from between 20 and 25 metres above.

“It was a large tree that had split, obviously when it was very young, and the trunk of it was divided into a quarter and three-quarters coming out of the ground,” he told ABC Radio on Thursday.

“The three-quarter section – it appeared like it snapped off at the base and fell, away from the remaining section of tree.”

Mr Dwyer said the incident was “really sad and shocking” and just “one of those things”.

“We got here within just a few minutes and knowing there was someone trapped underneath it, we knew we’d have to swing into some life support and first aid,” Mr Dwyer told 9News on Wednesday.

“But unfortunately there was nothing we could do.

“It appears at this stage she was just doing nothing more than sitting on the lawn just having something to drink.”

The trees in the park are regularly inspected by the local council and it is understood the tree that killed the young woman had also been recently inspected.

War Memorial Drive was closed as police and emergency services worked to clear the area.

Arborists were also called in to remove the dangerous parts of the tree and investigations are likely to commence to assess whether the tree was properly maintained.