On February 18, Loke Xiao Li, 38, was crushed by a falling tree while out for a morning run at Marsiling Park, Singapore.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) was alerted at around 8:15 am but by the time they got Xiao Li out from under the branches, she was already dead.
According to her sister, Gillian Loke, 44, she was wearing noise-canceling earbuds when the incident happened.
Gillain said that if Xiao Li hadn’t been wearing the earbuds and listening to music while running, she might’ve heard the sound of the falling tree and escape in time.
According to some witnesses in the area, they heard a loud crack when the incident happened.
One side of the earbuds that Xiao Li wore was damaged while the other remained intact.
Reports say that it was a sunny day and there were no signs of strong winds on the day of the incident.
Gillian said in disbelief that their family would never have thought this would happen to her sister.
Xiao Li was a passionate motorcyclist and her family had initially thought she was in a road accident, and not at the park. They added she had only picked up running recently.
Dr Leong Chee Chiew, commissioner of parks and recreation at the National Parks Board identified the tree as a 20m-tall Araucaria excelsa, with a girth of 1.3 meters. The Araucaria excelsa is also known as a star pine tree.
When the tree was checked in April last year, it was deemed to be healthy.
NParks is currently investigating the cause of the fall.
“We are investigating the cause of the tree fall,” Dr Leong said. “We are sad that there was one fatality. Our priority now is to accord assistance to the family of the deceased.”
The incident has been classified as a case of unnatural death and investigations are still ongoing.