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Violent storm causes tree to fall, crush child at Christian summer camp

Posted at 6:59 AM, Jul 09, 2014
and last updated 2014-07-09 06:59:46-04

(CNN) -- A rash of severe weather pummeled several eastern states Tuesday, killing at least five people and leaving about 300,000 people in the dark.

One boy died and eight other children were injured when a storm struck a church camp near Manchester, Maryland, the Lineboro Volunteer Fire Department said.

"We had a very fast moving storm go through the area with heavy winds and rain, and the campers got caught away from their shelter," Don Fair of the Lineboro fire department said.

He said trees fell on nine campers. One was trapped under a tree, and the others suffered minor injuries.

In New York, four people died in the Syracuse area after the storm destroyed four homes, Madison County Undersheriff John Ball said.

Fierce winds there whipped torrential rain sideways. Several trees were uprooted or snapped at the trunk. Many more houses were damaged, Ball said.

And many of those who were fortunate enough to have their homes intact lost power.

As of early Wednesday morning, more than 207,000 customers in Pennsylvania still had no electricity, the state's major utility companies said.

And more than 87,000 New York state residents were still in the dark Wednesday morning.

CNN's Julie Cannold, Allie Malloy and Tina Burnside contributed to this report.