A devastating sudden accident has shaken northern Germany, where a massive tree uprooted by severe wind gusts crashed into a crowd of Easter egg hunt attendees on Sunday, leaving three people dead — among them an infant just 10 months old — and one person critically injured, local law enforcement confirmed.
The tragedy unfolded around 11 a.m. in a wooded area outside the small town of Satrupholm, where roughly 50 people had gathered for the community event. All attendees were affiliated with a nearby residential institution that supports vulnerable pregnant people, new mothers and children, according to the facility’s public information. When the 30-meter (nearly 100-foot) tall tree fell, it landed directly on a small group of attendees, trapping four people beneath its heavy trunk and branches.
First responders rushed to the scene to extract the trapped victims. A 21-year-old woman and a 16-year-old girl suffered fatal injuries and could not be saved, passing away at the site of the incident. The 21-year-old’s 10-month-old daughter was also badly hurt; despite emergency medical efforts, the infant died shortly after arriving at a local hospital. An 18-year-old woman sustained severe life-threatening injuries and was airlifted to a medical center via rescue helicopter for urgent treatment.
The residential facility at the center of the event operates as part of Schleswig-Holstein’s state-funded child welfare network, designed to give critical support to expecting and new mothers facing challenging circumstances that require external assistance. In the wake of the crash, specialized grief counselors were immediately deployed to the site to support surviving attendees, first responders and facility staff who witnessed the traumatic event.
Photographs of the aftermath published by German outlet Bild show scattered, colorful Easter eggs still lying across the forest floor, with two of the deceased victims covered in white sheets, marking the scope of the sudden loss. In a grim precursor to the disaster, the German national weather service had already issued an official high wind warning for the region ahead of the event, alerting residents to dangerous gust conditions.
Regional government leaders for Schleswig-Holstein, where Satrupholm is located, have publicly expressed their shock and sorrow over the fatal incident. In a joint statement shared by Germany’s dpa news agency, Governor Daniel Günther, Interior Minister Magdalena Finke, and Youth and Families Minister Aminata Touré said, “Our thoughts are with the family members of the dead, with the injured, and with everyone who had to experience this terrible occurrence.” The statement added that the entire region is deeply shaken by the unforeseen tragedy.