Falling tree at Calif. summer camp kills one

(JTA) — A tree fell through a dining hall at a Jewish summer camp in Northern California, killing one and requiring four others to be airlifted to a nearby hospital.

A Cal Fire spokesman, Daniel Berlant, posted on Twitter that emergency crews were responding to a “mass casualty” event on Wednesday at Camp Tawonga, with 20 reported injuries, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The Times cited hospital officials in Sonora, Calif., as saying that one person had died.

There were conflicting reports as to whether any children were injured in the incident. Gregg Rubenstein, director of finance for the camp, told The Associated Press that the staff was still assessing the situation but no campers were among the injured.

A spokesman for the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office, Sgt. Jim Oliver, told myMotherLode.com that children had been trapped under the tree but were not necessarily injured.

Founded in 1925, Camp Tawonga is located near Yosemite National Park and headquartered in San Francisco.