A California tree trimmer died after becoming trapped when palm fronds collapsed on him as he worked 50ft up a tree.
Officials say that Bardomiano Bautista-Perez, 39, became pinned by the fronds as he worked in the front garden of a home in Bonita, near San Diego.
Firefighters were called to the property at around 11.30am on Monday as other workers tried to free their co-worker, KFMB reported.
Authorities say that it took around 35 minutes to free the victim and lower him to the ground, where he was pronounced dead.
“We have seen this in the past with these palm fronds falling on these tree trimmers and it is something that is relatively unique to certain types of palm trees,” Chula Vista Battalion Chief Tim Mehrer told KNSD.
The victim, who was a father of four from Escondido, had been hired by a friend to work in a four-person team, reported KGTV.
They were on the second day of the job when the fatal accident happened.
“We can’t believe it,” sister-in-law Rosario Martinez told the station. “You can’t describe it in words.”
And she added: “He was hard-working, modest, humble, and a great family man. He was so safety conscious. That’s why we don’t understand what happened.”
The accident is now being investigated by the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health.
