Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The moment parts of a tree fell on a crowd was caught on camera during a Facebook live

A falling tree has killed at least 13 people and injured 49 at a religious ceremony on the Portuguese island of Madeira.

A video shows the tree crashing down on a crowded square in a suburb of the main town, Funchal, spreading panic among people enjoying the festivities.

Two children are reported to have been killed, and some of the injured are said to be foreign nationals.

Reports suggest the tree which fell was an oak that was about 200 years old.

As the island declared three days of mourning, Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa arrived in a display of solidarity, telling reporters that "all Portuguese people" shared their shock.

He was due to visit the scene of the disaster as well as a hospital and a civil defence facility.

Madeira, a popular destination for European tourists, is the largest of a group of Portuguese islands in the north Atlantic Ocean, south-west of the Portuguese mainland.

'Tree was hollow'

People had gathered outside a church in a village in the hills overlooking the town to celebrate the Roman Catholic Feast of the Assumption, which takes place on Tuesday and is a public holiday. The Lady of the Mount festival is the island's biggest.

Image copyright EPA Image caption The square where the religious ceremony was taking place is surrounded by trees

The tree came down just after midday (11:00 GMT) on Fountain Square, which has a Catholic shrine and other monuments, and is shaded by plane trees, according to the Funchal town website.

"I heard a great noise and when I looked at the tree it was already falling but was too fast and people started to run and those who couldn't run stayed under the tree," one unnamed eyewitness said.

"It was something we will never forget," said another. "It sounded like shots and it just gave us time to look and run away when we realised there were people under the tree."

Image copyright EPA Image caption The president is due to visit the site where the tree fell later on Tuesday

Emergency services flooded the area after the disaster, tending to the injured.

Pedro Ramos, health secretary of the local government of Madeira, said the injured included German, Hungarian and French citizens, the Portuguese news site Publico reports.

Witnesses quoted by Portuguese broadcaster RTP say the tree that fell had been shored up for at least two years because the trunk was hollow.

Image copyright AFP Image caption People lit candles after the disaster

President de Sousa said it was not for him to give an opinion on responsibility for the disaster as that was a "matter for the regional authorities".

"The president of the republic is conveying the clear, total and unconditional solidarity of the Portuguese," he said.

This year's festival would have been all the more special because, Portuguese news site Publico notes, last year's event had to be cancelled due to forest fires.

Disaster at festival time

Danny Savage, BBC News

High above Funchal, looking out across the Atlantic, is the village of Monte. Last night, the Catholic church, which attracts thousands of tourists, stood out like a beacon above the town, floodlit for the Feast of the Assumption.

The cable car linking the town and the church worked late into the night taking thousands of people to and from the festivities. When we visited last week, parishioners were decorating the church altar in beautiful flowers.

Friendly, cheerful, trying to make this year's festival special after wild fires destroyed the surrounding countryside last year leading the event to be cancelled.

Today, thousands of people had gathered around the church again for a procession. A small square, close to where buses drop visitors, was busy when the tree came down.

The crowd would have been mainly Portuguese but there are thousands of people from many other countries here at the moment, some of whom may have been caught up in this disaster.</s>A tree toppled into a crowd of worshippers during a major Christian festival on the Portuguese island of Madeira on Tuesday, killing 12 people and leaving 50 injured, officials said.

The accident happened during Madeira’s biggest annual Roman Catholic festival, which draws big crowds to celebrate the island’s patron saint, Our Lady of the Mount. Worshippers were struck by the falling tree near a shrine in a park in the hills above Madeira’s capital Funchal as they prepared for a procession.

Pedro Ramos, health secretary of the local government of Madeira, said 10 people had died on the spot and a further two when they arrived in hospital.

He said some of the injured were foreign tourists, including from Germany and France. “My thoughts are with the families and friends of the victims and my solidarity is with the citizens of Madeira,” prime minister Antonio Costa said.

President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was travelling to the island to comfort victims. An amateur video posted on the website of local newspaper Jornal de Madeira showed the huge tree crashing down into the crowd, prompting many to run for their lives.

Television showed fire and rescue services working to help victims and cut away the fallen tree.

“It was terrible, it was so sudden,” Xavier Nunes, an eyewitness, told SIC television. Local media said the tree was rotten, and had been partly supported by a metal cable.

The festival celebrates the Assumption, or entry into heaven, of the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus. Every August 15th is a public holiday across Portugal to honour the day.

Portugal has had a tough year with a number of disasters, including its most tragic forest fires in memory, which killed 64 people in June. Fires have continued to rage through the summer. Last summer Madeira suffered fierce forest fires that killed at least four people.</s>At least 11 people have been killed after a 200-year-old oak tree toppled into crowds during a religious festival on the Portuguese island of Madeira, local media reported.

A government official said 52 other people were injured when the tree fell outside a church in the hills above the capital, Funchal, on Tuesday.

The accident happened during a Roman Catholic festival marking the Assumption, or entry into heaven, of the Virgin Mary. The local festival is called the Celebration of Our Lady of the Mount, the Atlantic island’s biggest annual religious festival, which draws large crowds.



An amateur video posted on the website of the local newspaper Jornal da Madeira shows the tree crashing down into a crowd of people.

“It was terrible, it was so sudden,” a witness told SIC television. TV reports showed fire and rescue services working to help victims and cutting away the fallen tree.

Portugal’s prime minister, Antonio Costa, tweeted: “I express my condolences for the victims of the accident in Madeira.” He said his “thoughts are with the family and friends of the victims”.

Costa said the government had made contact with local authorities on the island to offer its support. “The government has provided medical support given the high number of victims,” he added.

Madeira, a popular tourist destination, is the largest of several Portuguese islands in the north Atlantic Ocean. It has a population of more than 250,000, the vast majority of whom are Catholic.

Last year the Assumption Day festival, located in botanical gardens three miles from central Funchal, was cancelled because of forest fires.</s>LISBON, Portugal — The Latest on the fallen tree on Portuguese island of Madeira (all times local):

Portuguese authorities say the tree that fell during a popular religious festival on the island of Madeira killed at least 12 people.

Government official Pedro Ramos said 52 others were injured in the accident Tuesday near the island capital of Funchal.

The tree fell while a large crowd was gathered as part of a traditional religious festival. The Nossa Senhora do Monte festival is the island’s biggest annual festivity.

Held Aug. 14-15, it draws large crowds to a church on the outskirts of Funchal.

Portugal’s prime minister has expressed his condolences for the victims of a falling tree on the island of Madeira.

Portuguese media were giving different death tolls. RTP public television reported that up to 11 people have died and 35 injured when the tree fell during an annual religious festival near the city of Funchal. TSF radio says there are two fatalities and 10 injured.

Prime Minister Antonio Costa tweeted that “I express my condolences for the victims of the accident in Madeira.”

He added that his “thoughts are with the family and friends of the victims.”

Costa said that the central government has made contact with local authorities on the island to offer its support. He said that “the government has provided medical support given the high number of victims.”

Portuguese media has reported that several people have died when they were crushed by a falling tree on the island of Madeira.

RTP public television has shown images of emergency workers gathered under a group of tall trees near Funchal on the Atlantic island.

Portuguese media are giving different death counts. RTP says 10 people have perished, while TSF radio says there are two fatalities.

The tree apparently fell while a large crowd was gathered as part of a traditional religious festival.</s>At least 11 people were killed and dozens others injured on Tuesday after a tree fell on them during a religious festival on the Portuguese island of Madeira, BBC reported. Two children were reported to be among those killed. The authorities have not yet confirmed the exact number of casualties.

A number of people had gathered outside a church in the village of Monte, a suburb of Funchal, to celebrate the Nossa Senhora do Monte festival, when the tree came crashing down on the crowded square.</s>At least 11 people were killed by a tree that toppled into worshipping crowds during a religious festival on the Portuguese island of Madeira on Tuesday, local media reported.

SIC television said 35 others were injured when the tree fell outside a church in the hills above Madeira’s capital Funchal.

The accident happened during a major Roman Catholic festival marking the Assumption, or entry into heaven, of the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus. The local festival is called the Celebration of Our Lady of the Mount, the Atlantic island’s biggest yearly religious festival. It draws big crowds.

An amateur video posted on the website of local newspaper Jornal de Madeira showed the huge tree crashing down into the crowd of people, prompting many to run for their lives.

“It was terrible, it was so sudden,” an eyewitness told SIC television, adding that the accident happened as worshippers prepared for the procession of Our Lady of the Mount.

Television showed fire and rescue services working to help victims and cut away the fallen tree. Emergency services were not immediately available to comment but were expected to give details of the accident in the late afternoon.</s>A tree that fell during a popular religious festival on the island of Madeira has killed at least 12 people, Portuguese authorities said.

Government official Pedro Ramos said 52 others were injured in the accident on Tuesday near the island capital of Funchal.

The tree fell while a large crowd was gathered as part of a traditional religious festival.

The Nossa Senhora do Monte festival is the island’s biggest annual festivity.

It is held on August 14 and 15 and draws large crowds to a church on the outskirts of Funchal.

Portugal’s prime minister expressed his condolences. Antonio Costa tweeted: “I express my condolences for the victims of the accident in Madeira.”

He added that his “thoughts are with the family and friends of the victims”.

Mr Costa said that the central government has made contact with local authorities on the island to offer its support.

He said that “the government has provided medical support given the high number of victims”.</s>A body lies on the covered on the ground after a falling tree killed people near Funchal on the island of Madeira Portugal in this image taken from video Tuesday Aug.15, 2017. Portuguese media has reported that people died when they were crushed by a falling tree during at a popular religious festival on the island of Madeira. (TVI via AP)</s>Twelve people have been killed and 52 injured after a tree crashed down on a popular religious festival on the Portuguese island of Madeira.

The tree fell while a large crowd was gathered near the island's capital of Funchal as part of the Nossa Senhora do Monte festival.

It is Madeira's biggest annual festivity and was being held on Monday and Tuesday, drawing large crowds to a church on Funchal's outskirts.

Local media reports described the tree as an oak more than 200 years old. Regional authorities say they are investigating what caused it to come crashing down.

Regional health chief Pedro Ramos said seven people had serious injuries. Mr Ramos said that of the 12 fatalities, 10 people died at the site of the accident. A child died en route to a local hospital, where a woman later died.

RTP public television showed images of emergency workers gathered under a group of tall trees on the Atlantic island.

Ambulances were shown pulling away from the site while workers wielding chainsaws cut away limbs from an enormous tree on the ground.

More televised images showed some people attending to the injured. Others appeared visibly shaken.

Miguel Albuquerque, the head of the regional government of Madeira, declared three days of mourning for the victims.

Prime Minister Antonio Costa shared his condolences for the victims on his Twitter account.

"I express my condolences for the victims of the accident in Madeira," Mr Costa said. "My thoughts are with the family and friends of the victims."

Mr Costa said that the central government made contact with local authorities on the island to offer its support.

"The government has provided medical support given the high number of victims," he said.

Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said he would travel to the island.

"I will go to Funchal today to learn more about what has happened, and, of course, to bring words of encouragement and comfort to those who have lost their loved ones," he said in a message posted on the president's official website.</s>A falling tree has killed at least 11 people and injured dozens more at a religious ceremony on the Portuguese island of Madeira.

A video shows the tree crashing down on a crowded square in a suburb of the main town, Funchal, scattering people who were out enjoying the religious festivities in the sunshine.

Two children are among the dead, Portuguese broadcaster RTP reports.

Reports suggest the tree which fell was an oak that was about 200 years old.

People had gathered outside a church in a village in the hills overlooking the town to celebrate the Roman Catholic Feast of the Assumption, which takes place on Tuesday. The Lady of the Mount festival is the island’s biggest.

Emergency services flooded the area after the disaster, tending to the injured.

Madeira, a popular destination for European tourists, is the largest of a group of Portuguese islands in the north Atlantic Ocean, south-west of the Portuguese mainland.
A tree falls over at a religious ceremony in Funchal, Madeira, killing at least 12 people and injuring over 50 others.