MORGANTON, N.C. -- A 9-year-old boy died after he accidentally hanged himself while playing in a tree.

Burke County sheriff’s deputies said Ayden Crawley, of Morganton, had a rope tangled around his neck while he was playing in a tree at his home Saturday afternoon.

Authorities are not certain how the rope ended up around his neck.

Crawley was a fourth-grader at Salem Elementary.

Monday, counselors will be on hand at the school to help his classmates and counsel students.