POWNAL — Investigators in Cumberland County are looking into the tragic events that led up to the death of a 5-year-old Pownal boy on Sunday afternoon.

According to a press release issued by the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, the boy was crushed by a tree at a home on Merrill Road in Pownal. The incident occurred at 1:43 p.m. Sunday.

The sheriff’s office reported Sunday night that the child had apparently been playing in a hole made by an uprooted tree that blew over last week during the windstorm. The boy’s grandfather told authorities that he was unaware that his grandson was playing near the uprooted tree when he began to cut and remove the tree.

According to the press release, the man cut the tree approximately 10 feet above the roots, which caused the root ball and remaining portion of the tree to “kick up” into position as if the tree trunk was standing. The man did not know that his grandson was pinned underneath the roots and remaining portion of the tree trunk and was unaware that the boy was missing for some time.

Authorities reported that when the grandfather didn’t see the victim or his older sister, he looked for them and discovered a portion of the victim’s sweatshirt under the roots. While the man frantically tried to dig his grandson out from underneath the tree, family members called the Pownal Fire Department.

Deputies with the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office were advised while responding to the home that members of the Pownal Fire Department had arrived on scene and were trying to free the child, who was pinned under the tree.

Pownal fire Chief Richard Hogue and firefighter Robert Ginn were the first to arrive on scene. The two men attached a chain to the remaining portion of the tree and used a pickup to move it enough so that they could free the child.

The child was transported to the Maine Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The incident remains under investigation.