Shocking moment two young girls dangle from big wheel carriage at funfair after ‘technical fault’
TWO girls clung to a fairground ride as their legs dangled from the carriage after a terrifying malfunction.
The incident on the ‘Snow Storm’ happened at Tucker’s Funfair, Grimsby, following a “weight distribution issue”.
The girls were seen hanging from their carriage at the top of the big-wheel-style ride.
The girls were seen hanging from their carriage at the top of the big-wheel-style ride.
Their carriage had completely tipped to the side at a terrifying angle – 26ft from the ground.
A spokesman for Tucker’s explained that a weight distribution imbalance after somebody got off it meant that as the girls were being prepared for their ride, their carriage drifted up before a safety pin could be attached and the operator was unable to grab it back down.
The ride was stopped immediately, which is when the girls could be seen hanging out of the carriage and they were brought down within a couple of minutes.
This comes after six people, including three children, have been taken to hospital after a fairground ride flew out of control at Planet Fun in Northern Ireland.
Witnesses have told how they are “traumatised” after young children were pulled from the ride covered in blood while pieces of metal were launched into the air.
Cassie Flemming, 23, from West Belfast had been at the funfair in Carrickfergus on a day out with her uncles, aunts and two young brothers.
She saw the horror incident unfold just after she had been on the ride with her eight-year-old brother.
TERRIFYING ANGLE
She told The Sun: “My youngest brother and I had just gotten off that ride. When we were on it it was fine, there were no problems.
“We were just standing in front of it when the other people got on – the next minute the ride just malfunctioned.
“Instead of going straight up to its full height it only went up around two metres.
“So when it started swinging it started hitting all of the stands and lights that surrounded it.
“People were hitting off all of the metal stands around it and then people started getting swung all around each other.
“The swings were all held by lines and they all snapped so everybody was just screaming. It was horrific.”
As staff scrambled to stop the ride Cassie bravely ran to aid its passengers.
A spokesperson for Planet Fun said: “Shortly after 18:00 this evening, the emergency procedures on our Star Flyer ride were enacted following an incident. At no stage did the ride collapse.
“We immediately sought assistance from the NI Ambulance Service.
“We have also reported the incident to the HSE and will co-operate fully with the agency to understand exactly what happened.
“Health and safety is central to all operations at Planet Fun and will offer whatever assistance is required to those customers affected.”
