Video: Woman killed after giant Christmas tree falls over at Belgian market square

The brightly lit tree was seen slowly leaning over, then collapsing next to a Christmas market as a merry-go-round spun on the historic town square

Published: Fri 22 Dec 2023, 2:48 PM

Updated: Fri 22 Dec 2023, 2:49 PM

By
Reuters

Photo: Screengrab from a video on X

A woman was killed and two people were injured by a large Christmas tree that fell over in the Belgian city of Oudenaarde on Thursday evening, authorities said on Friday.

Security camera footage on Belgian news media showed a brightly lit 20m-high Christmas tree slowly leaning over, then collapsing next to a Christmas market as a merry-go-round spun on the historic town square.

Here's the video:

A spokesman for the Oost-Vlaanderen province prosecutor said the victim was 63-year-old woman from Oudenaarde. Two women from the same town were lightly injured in the incident.

Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.

"The investigation will focus on whether the tree had been properly secured and will also look at the impact of the weather," he said.

Storm Pia, which has disrupted traffic in the UK and the Netherlands on Thursday, hit western Belgium on Thursday and the weather service had issued a yellow code warning for the coastal areas.

ALSO READ: