A male tree service worker is dead and another male is in life-threatening condition after the tree they were working on fell in a rural area of Milton on Friday evening.

“Emergency services responded to an incident where a couple of workers were taking down trees, and in the storm, a tree came down and struck two individuals," Halton police Insp. Ivan L'Ortye said.

The incident happened in the area of Side Road 20 and Fourth Line Nassagaweya, which was closed off following the incident.

Fire crews extricated the males. One was pronounced dead at the scene. The other was rushed to Hamilton General Hospital in life-threatening condition.

Police say the men were employed by a private contractor.

Authorities say it was windy in the area at the time. Police are investigating why the men were out working under the conditions.

The Ministry of Labour has been called to investigate the incident.