A 12-Year-Old Girl Was Killed When Her Snow Fort Collapsed

Another girl was treated for hypothermia.

A 12-year-old girl died and another child was injured Sunday after they were trapped underneath a collapsed snow fort in the Chicago suburbs.

Arlington Heights Police told BuzzFeed News the two children were playing in the snow outside of Rothem Church when the “tragic accident” occurred.

“They were gone for approximately an hour when family members and church members started to look for them,” said Sgt. Chuck Buczynski.

Searchers were able to locate the girls by a piece of a jacket that was sticking out of the snow.

The 12-year-old girl was pronounced dead at a local hospital. The other girl, 9, was treated for hypothermia and released Monday.

It’s unclear how long the girls were trapped under the snow.

“It was an unfortunate, tragic accident,” said Buczynski.

“Unless somebody had seen what happened, unfortunately there’s nothing anybody could have done.”

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