Woman killed after being impaled by beach umbrella in South Carolina

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A woman has died after being impaled by a beach umbrella in Garden City, South Carolina, according to local authorities.

The Horry County Coroner identified the victim as 63-year-old Tammy Perreault, WMBF reported. The fatal incident, which occurred on Wednesday, appeared to be a freak accident.

A local bar paid tribute to Ms Perreault in a statement.

“Today with heavy hearts we mourn the loss of a dear friend and kind hearted local, Tammy Perreault. Some things we will never begin to understand but what we do know is no one has a bad thing to say about this woman,” Scotty’s Beach Bar said.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission has previously issued a warning about beach umbrellas.

“Airborne beach umbrellas can be dangerous, even deadly. Make sure your beach umbrella stays anchored in the sand!” the agency said.

It offers a few tips to ensure umbrellas do not end up blowing towards other beach-goers: burying the pole at least two-feet deep, tilting it into the wind and making sure that sand is packed around the base of the umbrella.

This is a developing story