Three boys rushed to hospital as tree falls on them at Birmingham school
Three schoolboys have been injured, one seriously, when a tree fell on them in a playground at King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys on Vicarage Road, Kings Heath. The incident occurred shortly after 10am on Wednesday, July 1, when the tree fell at the end of morning break.
The three teenagers were hurt in the incident. The most seriously injured boy received advanced trauma care at the scene before being taken by ambulance on blue lights to Birmingham Children's Hospital with medics travelling with him to give continued treatment on the way. The other two boys sustained potentially serious injuries and were also conveyed to Birmingham Children's Hospital for further assessment.
West Midlands Ambulance Service was called at 10.18am on Wednesday, July 1 to reports that a tree branch had fallen at the school. Three ambulances, two paramedic officers, the critical care car and a trauma doctor and critical care paramedic attended the scene. The first boy sustained serious injuries and received advanced trauma care from ambulance staff before being conveyed to Birmingham Children's Hospital under emergency blue light conditions with medics travelling on board for continued treatment en route. The second and third had sustained potentially serious injuries and received treatment at the scene before being conveyed to the hospital.
A spokesman for the King Edward VI Academy Trust said: "An incident occurred at King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys at the end of morning break yesterday when a section of a tree fell within the playground area. Emergency services attended the school immediately and responded swiftly to the situation. All the emergency services were in attendance. The area was secured without delay and specialist crews worked safely to remove the tree."
The school confirmed a small number of students were directly involved. Their families were contacted promptly and the affected pupils received appropriate care and support. School staff have been supporting pupils who witnessed the incident, monitoring their wellbeing and providing additional pastoral support where needed.
The spokesman continued: "The safety and wellbeing of our pupils and staff remain our highest priority. We are grateful to the emergency services for their swift and professional response and to our staff for the care and support they provided yesterday and are continuing to provide. A full and thorough investigation to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident is under way. We respectfully ask that the privacy of the pupils, their families and our staff is respected."
The school remained open on Wednesday and was operating as normal on Thursday, July 2.