Boy, 9, plunges 22ft from zipwire ride as horrified onlookers watched him fall when ‘cable snapped’
A BOY of nine plunged 22ft from a forest zipwire ride when his safety cable snapped, witnesses claim.
The youngster was rushed to hospital with back and abdominal injuries after the horror accident at the TreeTop Challenge adventure park in Queensland, Australia.
One shocked witness said the boy fell because the cable supporting him broke, reports
Other children saw the horror while attempted to navigate the course through the forest canopy on Sunday afternoon.
The kids were shaken up by it but had to finish the challenge to get down from the course, one onlooker claimed.
Bosses of the TreeTop Challenge disputed this, saying the activity was stopped straight away.
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Operators have, however, apologised to the youngster's family and launched a review.
The park in Queensland's Sunshine Coast was closed as workplace safety officials began an investigation.
Parts of the zipline and the harness the boy used were reportedly seized for tests on Monday.
They boy remained conscious as paramedics took him to hospital.
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Despite initial fears of a serious spinal injury, he was discharged from hospital on Monday.
TreeTops Challenge includes two obstacle courses slung between trees, with 12 ziplines ranging from 10ft to 100ft off the ground.
Its website describes it as the "highest, largest and most thrilling high ropes adventure park" in Australia.
A mother who visited with her husband and two kids last week said the staff were "great" at checking safety equipment.
"They would check after the group returned off a challenge then checked it all again before starting a challenge," she told Daily Mail Australia.
"They [my husband and kids] weren't allowed to go on difficult challenges until they had successfully completed the beginner ones.
"I just don't understand how he could have fallen off."
It comes after a nurse fell to her death after scaling a 60ft zip wire platform.
Yasmili Araujo, 23, had gone with her boyfriend and pals to a water park on July 2 when witnesses say she climbed to the top at the Piracema Park Club in Brazil.
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Moments before she was offered a safety harness, she slipped through a hole and plummeted 66ft to the ground.
Paramedics rushed her to hospital with multiple fractures, but she died of a heart attack on the way.
