7 injured after large tree limb falls at San Antonio Zoo
A large tree branch broke off a tree and fell on several people at the San Antonio Zoo on Wednesday, the zoo's president and CEO confirmed to CBS News. Seven people were transported to the hospital, but one had injuries that were considered a "priority," the San Antonio Police Department said.
"Zoo first responders and local emergency crews were on site within minutes to treat those who were injured," zoo President and CEO Tim Morrow said in a statement, adding that the zoo is investigating the incident to "prevent this unusual event from happening again."
CBS News has reached out to the police department for more information and is awaiting response.
This just happened, right in front of us there's ppl trapped the tree just snapped
Posted by Brandy Lorraine on Wednesday, March 15, 2023
A video shared on social media by zoo-goer Brandy Lorraine shows chaos erupt after the large tree branch fell.
"People are under there," Lorraine exclaims in the video, in which zoo visitors crowding around the fallen limb and a child is heard screaming and crying.
Lorraine told CBS News the incident happened just before noon near the aviary section. She said she heard a loud crack, stood up from a nearby table she was sitting at and "saw the tree break and fall, then chaos," she said via Facebook messenger.
"I just remember the horrible screams of a child and a mother looking for her baby, the tree knocked down power lines so they blocked us from getting to the tree but there were many [people] on the other side that rushed to help," she said.
She said she also saw a woman trying to help, visibly shaken and covered in someone else's blood.
"It was just horrible to witness and hear. I just hope everyone comes home OK," she said.
Earlier this month, a mother hiking in Rancho San Antonio Park in Cupertino, California, was killed when a tree fell on her, CBS San Francisco's Da Lin and Betty Yu reported. The woman was with her son and fellow Boy Scouts and their parents, hiking on the so-called "PG&E." The trail got its name due to the power lines above it.
While it witnesses said wasn't very windy, it doesn't take much to down the trees, officials said, especially because the soil was saturated from recent storms that battered the area.