Woman is crushed to death by a tree on War Memorial Dr at the University of Adelaide

A young woman has been crushed to death by a falling tree in central Adelaide.

The woman was sitting under a gum tree at the University of Adelaide football field on War Memorial Dr when part of the trunk fell on her about 2.30pm on Wednesday.

Emergency services tried to resuscitate the woman, but she could not be saved.

Arborists have been called to the scene while police investigate.

Adelaide Mayor Jane Lomax-Smith called the horror incident 'shocking'.

“Council staff are assisting authorities on the ground and we are doing our best to establish what happened,” she said. 7News.

'Unfortunately I cannot provide any further information at this time as the circumstances leading to this tragic event will be the subject of an official investigation.'

More to come.