Two young girls were killed and three others were injured after strong winds sent a tree crashing into a house in Birmingham, Alabama, authorities have said.
Both of the girls, a three-month-old and a three-year-old, were inside the house on 10th Avenue West, about two miles west of downtown Birmingham, when the incident happened on Thursday evening.
Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service responded to the scene at 5:37pm after a woman called 911 from inside the home. She told 911 she was struggling to breathe and was trapped, AL.com reported.
Four others were inside, including the two girls who were killed, another woman, and an 11-year-old boy. All of the persons were rescued from the property by 8pm.
The three children rescued from the damaged property were transported to the Children’s of Alabama hospital, where the two girls were later pronounced dead. The condition of the boy was unclear on Friday.
Both women meanwhile sustained “significant” injuries, said fire battalion Chief Sebastian Carrillo toThe New York Times. One of the women was sitting in a recliner when the tree fell on top of her.
Mr Carrillo said that while Birmingham was used to such incidents, he had never seen so many people who had to be attended to.
“I don’t remember as many people being involved in one of these rescues,” he recalled.
Heavy rain and winds with gusts of up to 70 miles an hour passed through Birmingham on Thursday, the National Weather Service said, with residents warned to avoid driving.
AL.com reported that there were about 50,000 Alabama Power customers without electricity as of 6:23 p.m.
