Fairground horror
Eight children are seriously injured after falling 30ft on to concrete from inf latable slide
EIGHT children were seriously hurt last night after falling from a 30ft-high inflatable slide at a major fireworks display.
Horrified witnesses saw about 15 to 20 children plunge on to concrete when the slide in Woking Park, Surrey, suddenly began to ‘buckle’.
One man, who was with his wife and nine-monthold son, said: ‘We heard kids screaming and then saw them begin to fall off the side.’
Another witness, Oliver Trimble, saw victims being treated by medics, adding: ‘It was quite a horrendous sight to see.’
Others reported that the slide had earlier looked ‘flimsy and unsafe’.
Emergency workers said those hurt suffered a range of spinal and neck injuries, and broken arms and legs. Some were taken to hospital by air ambulance.
Safety guidelines say there should be no more that 12 people on an inflatable of that size at any time, but witnesses suggest that more than three times that number of children were on the slide when it collapsed.
Andy Datson, 23, saw up to 40 children on the inflatable.
He said: ‘We had been walking past earlier in the night and said it looked unsafe. It looked pretty flimsy to say the least.
‘There were far too many kids on it. It didn’t look like it could hold that many people.’
The horrific accident happened at 7.20pm at a funfair held alongside one of Surrey’s biggest fire- works displays, which attracts about 12,000 spectators.
Surrey Police declared a ‘major incident’ saying it involved ‘a number of people falling from an inflatable slide’.
The force added: ‘A number of children fell from the slide and were injured. Eight children have been taken to hospital… with potentially serious injuries. We are grateful to the public of Woking for their understanding and assistance in quickly evacuating the scene.’
Musician Anna Neale was among hundreds of people evacuated from the park, which had been packed with families with young children awaiting the fireworks display.
The 36-year-old said: ‘We saw all the blue lights and then the air ambulance arriving.
‘We all evacuated very calmly. Everyone was just shocked.’
She had planned to take her daughters, aged ten and six, on the giant slide after the fireworks. ‘I am very grateful my children didn’t go on it, let’s just put it that way.’
Others described the aftermath,
‘It looked flimsy, there were too many kids on it’
with one saying: ‘The mood is very sombre… It’s very quiet.’
Astonishingly, some who attended posted messages on social media asking about possible refund.
Organisers at the local Rotary Club responded on Twitter: ‘We are all very shocked and distressed by events in the funfair this evening.
‘We are focusing in assisting the emergency services in dealing with the injured children.
‘If you’ll excuse us, we’ll turn our attention to dealing with ticketing issues etc when we can?’