A 32-year-old mother of two is being remembered for her final act of bravery after she pushed her young daughter out of the way before being fatally hit by a tree branch in a park in England.
On Monday, Aug. 11, Madia Kauser and her husband, Wasim Khan, were walking with their 9-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter in Witton Country Park in Blackburn, Lancashire. Khan and their son were walking ahead, while Kauser and her daughter were behind them, when the branch fell and struck Kauser, BBC, LancsLive, and The Sun reported.
Kauser had been pushing her daughter in a stroller when the large tree branch fell toward them. The young mother managed to get her daughter out of the way before she was hit, according to LancsLive.
Her husband told The Sun that he was playing soccer with their son at the time. Khan said they were chasing the ball when he heard a “crack.” The tree fell even though there was “no wind,” the outlet reported.
“I rushed to her,” Khan told The Sun. “I tried to save her, she was still breathing.”
A spokesperson for Lancashire Police told PEOPLE that first responders arrived at the park on Preston Old Road on Monday at 8:33 p.m. local time after reports of a woman being hit by a falling tree branch.
“Emergency services attended and found the woman unresponsive,” police said. “Despite the best efforts of the emergency services, she was tragically pronounced dead at the scene.”
The death is not being treated as suspicious. A file will be prepared for His Majesty’s Coroner later.
The Lancashire County Council Coroner’s Office confirmed to PEOPLE that an inquest into Kauser’s death will open on Thursday, Aug. 21.
Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, which owns the park, said the family is “being supported and our thoughts remain with them,” in a Facebook statement.
“We are gathering the facts working with colleagues from the police and the Health and Safety Executive,” the council said. “In line with the law, the coroner’s inquest is where the full circumstances will be considered, and findings of the independent investigations will be heard.”
Kauser’s family is grieving the tragic accident, and she is being remembered as a loving mother.
Her great-uncle, Zamir Khan, told BBC that she was a “very caring mum who died saving her daughter.”
“She was very kind-hearted and would go out of her way for anyone,” he said. “We are all devastated.”
Kauser’s husband told The Sun that “she was the most beautiful and loyal person you would ever wish to meet.”
“She was loved by many, but especially her children,” said Khan. “We are left here without her.”
