Girl, 8, crushed to death by logs
Friend, 12, airlifted to hospital after horror accident in fenced-off area
AN EIGHT-YEAR-OLD girl was killed by falling logs after straying into a fenced-off forest yesterday.
A 12-year-old girl who was with her was also injured and had to be airlifted to hospital.
Disaster struck at around 2.40pm on a wooded hillside where walking paths had been fenced off while forestry work was carried out.
The youngsters are understood to have wandered into the area while playing together.
As police confirmed the child’s death last night, a local resident said: “There has always been
dangers in the forest. They have signs up warning of the dangers.”
The tragedy happened in a wooded area on Ben Lora, which rises above the tiny village of Benderloch, near Oban in Argyll.
Lewis Morrison, who runs the Ledaig Leisure shop nearby, said: “This is a terrible tragedy and the thoughts of this small community are with the girls’ families.
“Accidents on the hill here are very rare.
“The Ben Lora walks have been closed – it’s all fenced off at this end. There is felling extraction going on and the bigger trees have been getting dropped here but I wouldn’t have thought there would be any felling on a Sunday.
“I heard a helicopter go over the top of Ben Lora this afternoon and there were various other emergency vehicles went past, heading north out of the village.
“There is a forest road from Barcaldine around the top of the mountain so they would maybe be able to get up there.”
Paul Woodhouse, whose remote house above Barcaldine is surrounded by the Ben Lora forest, said: “There was an ambulance and a fire officer up here this afternoon trying to get up Ben Lora, behind Benderloch.
“The fire officer was trying to find the way up so I assumed someone had fallen and injured themselves. There has always been dangers in the forest.”
Police said: “We were called to a report that a young girl had been trapped under logs and another girl had been injured.
“Despite efforts by paramedics, the eight-year-old girl died at the scene. The 12-yearold was airlifted to hospital.
“A report is being sent to the procurator fiscal and the Health and Safety Executive have been informed.”