Firefighters work to transfer the body onto a stretcher.
KUCHING: A 64-year-old man died from serious head injuries after the tree he was chopping crashed down on him in a freak accident at Kampung Barieng Segong, Bau around 10.50am yesterday.
Firefighters called to the scene managed to extricate the deceased from under the tree and later handed the body over to the police for further action.
“The deceased, identified as Metih Rai alias Rais, was pronounced dead at the scene by medical personnel from the Bau Hospital,” Bau Fire Station chief Tawang Lingam said in a statement yesterday.
The Fire and Rescue Department completed the operation at 12.44pm.
When contacted, Bau police chief DSP Poge Nyaon confirmed the police are investigating the incident.
“It is believed that the deceased was chopping the tree halfway when it suddenly fell,” said Poge.
He added that rainwater had probably added to the weight of the tree’s canopy, which caused it to prematurely fall.