Girl, 10, killed by falling tree at campground

Credit: Scott Olson

Credit: Scott Olson

A 10-year-old girl died Sunday morning after a tree fell on the camper in which she was sleeping, according to multiple reports.

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Authorities were called around 8:30 a.m. Sunday after a tree fell across two campers parked at Oma's Family Campground in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Quarryville fire Chief Joel Neff told Lancaster Online. One of the trailers was empty, but a Perry County girl was inside the second one.

Neff told Lancaster Online that emergency responders had to cut the tree and the camper to get to the girl. Authorities told the news site the girl was sleeping when the tree fell.

She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Neff told Lancaster Online that the incident was “a freak accident.”

Officials did not say why the tree fell. Connie Masse, theh owner of Oma's Family Campground, told WPMT that the tree had ants inside.

“You come camping to enjoy, relax and, you know, just unwind,” she told the news station. “You never expect something like this to happen.”

Neff told Lancaster Online that authorities found visible dead spots in the felled tree.

“From the outside, the tree looked fine, but once it broke off, you could see dead areas in the center,” Neff said.

Authorities classified the girl’s death as an accident.

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