Youngster dead, woman hurt as tree falls on hiking group near Chilliwack, B.C.

YARROW, B.C. – A five-year-old boy has been killed in an accident involving a group of hikers on a walk east of Vancouver.

RCMP in Chilliwack say a tree fell on the group Tuesday as they walked along a trail in Yarrow, 90 kilometres east of Vancouver.

A statement from police says the boy had died by the time officers arrived.

Cpl. Mike Rail says a 22-year-old woman was also hurt.

He says she was treated in hospital for what are described as non-life-threatening injuries.

The BC Coroners Service and RCMP are investigating.

All the members of the group were from British Columbia, Rail says.

“This group was local to the Chilliwack area and consisted of children being supervised on a day hike along the trail,” he says in the statement.

The RCMP’s victims services unit is assisting the boy’s family and other members of the group.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 20, 2020