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28-year-old hiker killed by 200-foot redwood tree that fell on him at California national park on Christmas Eve

The Minneapolis resident, his sister and her boyfriend were struck by the giant redwood tree when the trio was hiking through Muir Woods in California

A 28-year old hiker was walking the trails of Muir Woods, a popular national park outside San Francisco, with his sister and her boyfriend, when tragedy hit them.

A huge redwood tree fell and crushed the trio. However, not all three were in danger, according to a release from Marin County Sheriff’s Office, reported People.

Emergency services found Subhradeep Dutta in an "unconscious and lifeless" condition at the scene and was pronounced dead, owing to severe traumatic injuries.

His sister, who was also injured, was hospitalized. However, her boyfriend managed to escape the accident without any injury, according to National Park Service spokesman Charles Strickfaden who gave local news interviews.

The incident took place on Christmas Eve when the three youth were enjoying the holiday break in the woods of California. Dutta was visiting his sister, Swagata, and her boyfriend in the Bay Area for the holidays.

According to local news, the trio heard sounds of some rocks and debris falling before the tree came crashing down. Swagata and her brother ran in one direction, while her boyfriend ran in the other, managing to save himself.

She then managed to get out of the loose debris that covered her and shouted out to her brother, who was unresponsive. That was when Swagata knew that there was something wrong with him.

Strickfaden addressed the incident as an "isolated event" but also mentioned that recent rainfall could have loosened the soil and weakened the tree.

The redwood tree that killed Dutta, was 200 feet tall and four feet wide, according to press reports. There was also a witness to the incident. Hiker Alex Shepard who was hiking with his mother on the same trail heard the falling tree and thought it was an earthquake.

Dutta was a firmware engineer at Seagate Technology and lived in the Edina suburb of Minneapolis. He held a Master's Degree from the University of Colorado, Boulder, according to his social media profile.