A Minnesota man named Subhradeep Dutta decided to go hiking on Christmas Eve with his sister and her boyfriend while visiting them in California, but a tragic accident occurred during the outing.

While going through California’s Muir Woods, a Redwood tree fell and killed the 28-year-old and injured his sister. His sister's boyfriend was left unharmed.

When Emergency Services arrived at the scene they found Dutta “unconscious and lifeless beneath” the “large Redwood tree,” according to a statement released by Marin County Sheriff’s Office. Dutta reportedly suffered from “severe traumatic injuries” and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Dutta’s sister Swagata spoke to the local NBC outlet about the tragedy.

“I knew by instinct something was coming down,” she said after explaining that she heard rocks falling. “...I got out of it and then I yelled at him from the other side.”

“Then I noticed his shoe, my brother, and I noticed something was very wrong. We just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time,” she added. “...He followed all the rules so it’s unfortunate that this happened to him.”

Swagata thinks that the park should add warning signs so that visitors know the risks while hiking.

Charles Strickfaden, a spokesman for the National Park Service, spoke to Bay Area’s local CBS to talk about the accident.

“These were visitors exactly where they are allowed to be,” he said. “It just seems to be an unfortunate, tragic, event…The trail has been closed because of fallen trees. Access has been blocked until we can remove it.”

Strickfaden then went on to explain why he thinks the Redwood tree fell.

“The trees may have been weakened due to heavy rain that we’ve had in the last week or so,” he said.

“We consider this a totally isolated incident and it’s a tragedy. Our prayers are with the family,” he added.

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Representational image Getty Images/Jonathan Alcorn
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