Advertisement

One dead and seven injured after fairground ride breaks apart

At least one person has died and seven others have been injured after passengers were hurled from...
Newstalk
Newstalk

08.43 27 Jul 2017


Share this article


One dead and seven injured aft...

One dead and seven injured after fairground ride breaks apart

Newstalk
Newstalk

08.43 27 Jul 2017


Share this article


At least one person has died and seven others have been injured after passengers were hurled from a spinning ride in the US state of Ohio.

The accident took place on the Fire Ball ride, on the opening day of the Ohio State Fair.

A graphic video circulated on Twitter shows the ride swinging from side to side before parts of it appear to break off, hurling passengers through the air.

Advertisement

Three of the injured remain in critical condition in hospital.

The incident has prompted scrutiny over safety practices at the fair. Ride inspectors said that the Fire Ball had been inspected more than once and signed off on Wednesday.

Ohio's Republican Governor John Kasich said on Twitter he was "terribly saddened" by the accident and that he had ordered a "full investigation."

He said that is appears that all the necessary safety checks were carried out:

One dead and seven injured after fairground ride breaks apart

00:00:00 / 00:00:00

"There are accidents that occur in these parks," he said. "The only thing I can tell you is, as we live our lives, we try to rely on people to do the proper inspections to ensure public safety and people have to use their judgements." 

He has ordered that all fair rides be shut down as investigations are completed.

"The fair is about the best things in life, and tonight with this accident it becomes a terrible, terrible tragedy," he said at a news conference late on Wednesday night.

In a statement posted on Twitter the fair said it was investigating what had happened.

Officials said the event would continue on Thursday, but stressed that the rides would not be used until full inspections had been carried out.

Director of Agriculture David Daniels said all the rides at the fair were routinely checked as they were set up.

He added that when the fair started on Wednesday, 11 rides had not opened because they had not been inspected.

The website of a company providing rides to the Ohio State Fair described the Fire Ball as an "aggressive thrill" ride that spins riders at 13 revolutions per minute, swinging 40 feet (12m) above the midway.

The company, Amusements of America, described the Fire Ball as "one of the most popular thrill rides."

The company did not initially respond to a message requesting comment.

The Ohio State Fair is set to run until August 6th.


Share this article


Read more about

News

Most Popular