On the evening of July 27th, an old willow tree in Baotu Spring Park in Jinan suddenly tore and broke, knocking down 16 tourists, with 8 of them sustaining minor injuries.
Several netizens posted videos on July 27th, showing a large tree in Jinan, Shandong Province, Baotu Spring Scenic Area, suddenly snapping with visible signs of fracture on the trunk. The on-site video footage shows people urgently moving to try to remove the broken part of the tree, while others were seen sitting on the ground, presumably injured.
On July 28th, the Jinan “Number One Spring in the World” scenic area service center reported that at 18:46 on July 27th, an old willow tree in Jinan Baotu Spring Park tore and broke due to recent heavy rainfall, causing the branches to be overloaded with water, leading to imbalance in force at the tips, and causing the tree limbs to tear and fall, striking down 16 nearby tourists, who were promptly taken to seek medical attention by staff.
As of now, 8 tourists have been discharged after examination, and another 8 tourists have minor injuries and are under observation and treatment in the hospital. The report stated, “We sincerely apologize to the injured tourists, and at the same time, we will conduct a comprehensive inspection and maintenance of the trees and facilities in the park to prevent similar incidents from happening. ”
According to the report from “Sanxiang Metropolis Daily,” the broken willow tree near the main spring pool has been handled, and the scenic area is currently open as usual.
Information on the official website shows that Jinan’s “Number One Spring in the World” scenic area is located in Jinan City, Shandong Province, and is a national 5A-level tourist attraction. The total area of the scenic area is 3.1 square kilometers, consisting of “one river, one lake, three springs, four parks”: the river is the moat, the lake is Daming Lake, the three springs are Baotu Spring, Black Tiger Spring, and Wulongtan, and the four parks are Baotu Spring Park, City Park, Wulongtan Park, and Daming Lake Scenic Area.