Two children fall 40ft from bouncy castle after it’s launched skywards by wind
This is the moment two children narrowly escaped death, falling from a bouncy castle when high winds blew it forty feet up into the air.
During a fundraising day at a school in Johannesburg, South Africa, an unexpected gust made the inflatable take off.
Eye-witnesses screamed in at Laerskool Protearif Primary School as the multi-coloured castle spiralled up high into the sky.
A bouncy castle attendant looked on as one child, unable to hold on, fell from about 25 feet, before a group of parents formed a human crash pad.
Despite their efforts, the child was still seriously injured, but the parents had to react instantly as a second child lost their grip and plummeted too.
The parents managed to break the second child’s fall, but both were badly hurt and were rushed to the hospital, where one was said to have a fractured skull and the other a broken arm.
It is not known if any other children were on board and managed to cling on inside the bouncy castle, which landed about 50 feet from where it took off.
The fundraising event had been attended by over 1000 parents, pupils and friends.
School headmaster Deon Lourens declined to comment, but a statement on the school’s Facebook site confirmed two students were rushed to the nearest A&E.
It revealed that one child, thought to be the one with the broken arm, was released the same day, and the other, with a fractured skull, was released three days later.
The statement read that both children were receiving trauma counselling, but added: ‘It is with great gratitude that we are happy to share the very good news with you.
‘The necessary trauma counselling was given to both children, as well as to their co-learners, who experienced the event and thank you all for standing together. We thank you very much for everyone’s positive support, help and prayers.’
An eyewitness with two pupils at the school, who asked not to be named, said: ‘When they fell, I thought they were dead. I was watching from a food stall with my girls when I heard screaming and turned around and just saw this blue, green and red thing shooting up to the heavens.
‘Then there was a huge scream when the first child and then another fell out, but of all the places they could have landed, it was right over a group of parents below.
‘They reached up their arms to try to catch the falling children and undoubtedly saved their lives or saved them from much worse injuries by cushioning them.
‘It was not a very windy day, but it seemed this huge gust just came from nowhere, and it was said the bouncy castle had not been secured to the ground,’ she added.
It is unclear from the footage whether any ropes, tethers or anchoring mechanisms were being used, though it’s required by law.
The school’s principal, Deon Lourens, declined to comment, and his deputy, Lauren van der Merwe, said the matter had been referred to the Department of Education.
A school spokesman added: ‘There is a full and transparent investigation underway into what happened and it would be inappropriate to comment until that is concluded.’
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