Tree branch accident on the playground: Father dies tragically in front of the family

Tree branch accident on the playground: Father dies tragically in front of the family

In a tragic incident at a playground in Heidelberg-Handschuhsheim on June 21, 2025, a 39-year-old father was killed by a falling branch. The man was there with his wife and two children when the accident occurred while he was busy with one of his children. Fortunately, the child was uninjured, while the man's wife was severely traumatized after the incident and received pastoral care. How Heidelberg24 According to reports, Rottmannstrasse was closed until around 6:40 p.m. after the incident, and rescue workers were alerted around 5 p.m. Despite immediate first aid measures, the man succumbed to his serious injuries at the scene of the accident.

There is currently no clarity about the cause of the branch breaking, and the Heidelberg Criminal Investigation Department has taken over the investigation. The landscape office was also on site to assess the situation. It is noteworthy that there is currently no information about the size, weight or tree species of the branch. It also remains unclear whether the branch was rotten, which could be considered as a possible cause of the accident. Loud courier Several witnesses observed the event.

Playground safety in focus

The accident in Heidelberg is not the first of its kind. Every year around 430 children up to the age of 14 come to the Graz University Clinic for Child and Adolescent Surgery after accidents on the playground. Almost every second child suffers serious injuries, as a study by the GROSSE SCHÜTZEN KLEINE association shows. This often provides good conditions in public playgrounds, but supervisors are often distracted. The most common cause of accidents is falls from equipment, which can be exacerbated by lack of attention. How on Big shooters small ones can be read, over 70% of accidents can be traced back to typical playground equipment such as swings or climbing frames.

Safety and fun should go hand in hand at the playground. While devices that are too low often bore older children, it is still important to find a balance between risk and safety. One of the challenges is that supervisors often do not pay attention to the children playing for more than a quarter of the time. Increased awareness of this issue could help prevent such tragic accidents in the future.

The playground on Rottmannstrasse will now remain closed to visitors until Monday while the investigation continues and the background to this unfortunate incident is clarified. In the meantime, we wish those affected and the family of the deceased a lot of strength and support to deal with this difficult situation.