Hiker, 28, is killed when 200-foot redwood falls on top of him on national park dirt trail
- Subhradeep Dutta, 28, of Edina, Minnesota, was hiking at Muir National Woods Monument north of San Francisco with two other people Tuesday
- Five giant redwood trees suddenly fell while the trio were on a marked dirt trail about 4.30pm, including a 200-foot tree that struck Dutta
- He was pronounced dead at the scene. A female hiker also was injured by falling debris and treated at a nearby hospital. A second man was not hurt
- The trees may have fallen due to wet ground that became soaked after a series of winter storms hit the area in recent weeks, say authorities
A 28-year-old man was struck by a 200-foot redwood tree while he and two other people were on a Christmas Eve hike on a marked dirt trail in a national park in California, authorities said.
Subhradeep Dutta, who is from Edina, Minnesota, was pronounced dead at the scene after he was struck by the tree about 4.30 p.m. on Tuesday, confirmed the Marin County coroner’s office and a park spokesman.
The trunk of the tree measured 4-feet in diameter.
Subhradeep Dutta, 28, of Edina, Minnesota, was struck and killed by a 200-foot redwood tree while he and two other people were on a Christmas Eve hike on a marked dirt trail in a national park in California, authorities said
The area where the trees fell (pictured) remained closed Thursday, but the rest of the park, which gets a million visitors annually, was open.
A woman hiking with the victim also was hurt when she was struck by falling debris.
She was taken to an area hospital for treatment.
A second man who was on the hike was not injured.
The area where the trees fell remained closed Thursday, park spokesman Charles Strickfaden told KPIX.
The rest of the park just north of San Francisco, known for its massive trees and which gets a million visitors annually, was open.
The park spokesman said the trees likely fell after several winter storms had moved through the area in recent weeks.
‘This is a very rare, and isolated event that may have occurred due to wet ground from recent winter storms, around the roots of the tree’, park spokesman Charles Strickfaden said in an email.
‘The National Park Service extends its thoughts and prayers to all those involved’, he wrote.
The area where the trees fell remained closed Thursday, park spokesman Charles Strickfaden
The rest of the park just north of San Francisco, known for its massive trees and which gets a million visitors annually, was open
Dutta, according to his Facebook page, was originally from Jamshedpur, India.
He worked as a firmware engineer for Seagate Technology, Dutta indicated on his LinkedIn Page.
‘I love to meet new people, go for occasional hikes’, he wrote on his profile posted on the talent information website Simbi.com.
Muir Woods National Monument has been federally protected since 1908