6 injured when tree falls on group of people in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park

This article originally appeared on 6abc. 

Six people were injured Sunday afternoon when a large tree fell on a group having a class reunion party in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park.

According to police, the incident happened at about 12:20 p.m. in the 5300 block of N. Georges Hill Drive.

The six people who were injured are between 66 and 67 years old, police said. The group was celebrating a reunion for the West Philadelphia High School class of 1972.

“Every man ran across this park to go pick up heavy tree branches together to get them off the classmates,” said Florence Hagains, of West Philadelphia.

While people worked to pull heavy branches off those who were stuck, police arrived to the scene within minutes.

The victims were taken to area hospitals where they were being treated for their injuries. All six were listed in stable condition.

“We just praying for them and going to try and keep it going, this is something that’s annual,” Hagains said.

Alumni come together for the annual tradition to give back to current students and athletes at the school.

“We came together 15 years ago to try and improve quality of life for students at West Philadelphia High School,” said Michael Brown, president of the West Philadelphia High School Alumni Association.

Brown said he will press the city to inspect or remove all the dead trees at the park because they’ll be back next August.