Eucalyptus tree falls on California wedding party, leaves one dead, five injured

A lively wedding party in California turned into tragedy last Saturday after a large tree collapsed on attendees, leaving one woman dead and five injured.

Officials from the local fire department responded to several 911 calls received at around 4:30 p.m., reporting a case of large fallen tree in Penn Park. When they arrived on the scene, they found several people trapped underneath a large eucalyptus tree that had collapsed.

A video shows officers from the fire department using chainsaws on the tree's branches to get people out.

"They were here for a joyous occasion and then, unfortunately, a very large tree interrupted that," said John Tripp, a Los Angeles County Fire Department deputy chief. "They right now are going through a lot of issues that we are trying to support," USA Today reports.

A woman reportedly died on the scene, while the rest of those trapped suffered minor injuries, except for one that had to be brought to a local trauma center.

Witness Gilbert Duran shared in a live Facebook video that he and some friends had been taking and posing for photos under the tree, but they transferred to another spot for better lighting. Shortly the wedding party went under the tree to take photos as well.

"I just seen a bunch of kids, little kids ... they were running for their life and this thing just fell on top of them. I watched them go flat," Gilbert said, describing the scene.

The cause of the collapse is still being investigated, but according to Tripp, the five-year drought and the recent heavy downpour could have weakened the tree.

"It's just, again, showing the vegetation of southern California is still very stressed from the drought we've had over the last five years."

The park has reportedly been closed to the public while the arborist assesses if other trees in the area pose risk.