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A man has been declared dead after sustaining injuries from a falling tree branch in Toronto’s Trinity Bellwoods Park.

Police say the man was sitting under the tree with his wife when the branch fell. He was shielding his wife when he was fatally struck.

“From the information we heard from witnesses, the male threw himself over his wife as the branch came down and it struck him in the head and killed [him],” said Sgt. Scott Villers, Toronto Police Service. “At this time, the wife is at hospital receiving treatment, obviously very upset by what’s happened.” Tweet This

Police say the man was in his 30s; he and his wife are both from France, in Canada on a work permits.

Witnesses say young couple was under tree. Female and make appeared to be in 20s. pic.twitter.com/GvJzP5mhoX — Peter Kim (@PeterKimGlobal) June 18, 2016

The incident happened around 7:15 p.m. Witnesses told Global News’ Peter Kim that the couple was enjoying a picnic when the branch fell.

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People gathered around to try and help the man, who a witness said was unconscious, his face bruised. Despite attempts to revive the man he was declared dead at the scene.

Villers said he’s never seen anything like this in his 16 years with Toronto police. He called it one of the “once in a lifetime things that we see.”

Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation staff at the site said the tree appears to be healthy, but they have not yet completed their investigation.

HAZARD:

Trinity Bellwoods Park

-Man sitting with family below tree

-Piece of tree fell and struck him

-Injuries are grave

^dh — Toronto Police OPS (@TPSOperations) June 17, 2016

HAZARD:

Trinity Bellwoods Park

-Man is now VSA

-People performing CPR

^dh — Toronto Police OPS (@TPSOperations) June 17, 2016

HAZARD:

Trinity Bellwoods Park

-Man has succumbed to his injuries

-He is pronounced dead

-Investigators o/s

^dh — Toronto Police OPS (@TPSOperations) June 17, 2016

The tree branch that struck and killed a man in Toronto’s Trinity Bellwoods Park on June 17, 2016. Peter Kim / Global News

The park is popular spot in the Queen West area, often filled with hundreds of people. A music festival was going on in the park at the time; social media feeds quickly filled with photos from the scene and messages of disbelief.

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Trinity Bellwoods is Toronto's backyard, this news is devastating 💔 — Honey Boom Boom (@seafoamgreenway) June 18, 2016

Prayers and love to the man's family who just witnessed him die from a fallen tree branch in #trinitybellwoods. So random and sad. — Charley Varanelli (@charley_vee) June 18, 2016

So much love to the family of the young man who died of a FALLING BRANCH in trinity bellwoods. Feels like a nightmare. — poos (@shanpoos) June 18, 2016

I was at Trinity Bellwoods moments ago. This is so sad. — Kyle Baptista (@kylebaptista) June 18, 2016

With files Global News’ Peter Kim