Three young girls have plunged 12 metres from a carnival Ferris wheel ride in the U.S. state of Tennessee, after their basket upended and witnesses screamed at operators to shut down the ride. They are expected to be open Wednesday, with the exception of the Ferris wheel, which will be returned to the manufacturer for inspection. He initially told the news media that all the girls were responsive, but corrected himself after the mother of the two sisters objected to the report, the newspaper said.
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Burns said the other patient, a 6-year-old female, was intubated at the scene by EMS and brought to the trauma center where she was evaluated.
The girls were transported to Johnson City Medical Center – two by helicopter and one by ambulance – where the youngest remains in critical condition.
“The inspectors, there’s four different inspectors so we’ve got all kinds of results coming in, but the inspectors have found that there is a mechanical issue with this ride behind me and that they believe led to the incident at hand”, Capt. Tim Davis said.
The girls were taken to Johnson City Medical Centre, not far from the Green County Fair accident site, just after 6.15pm Monday.
Mechanical rides at the Greene County Fair will remain closed until inspections are conducted, after 3 children were injured after they fell from a Ferris wheel in eastern Tennessee, Tuesday, August 9, 2016.
According to an incident report, three females fell approximately 25 feet from the Ferris wheel Monday night.
With summer comes county fairs across the US and accidents on amusement rides.
The inspector said there were no major problems with the other rides at the fair, however, none of the rides will be reopened until the state has a thorough report from inspectors.
The Tennessee incident happened a day after a 10-year-old boy was killed while riding a Kansas waterslide billed as the world’s tallest.
The state relies instead on private inspectors hired by ride operators as well as inspections in other states to determine if roller coasters, zip lines and Ferris wheels are safe. Two remain hospitalised. Their names have not been released. “Please keep these families in your prayers”, the Facebook page said.
“It was like watching water pouring from a glass”, Lynthacum said.
They have not determined what caused the girls to be thrown from the ride. Operators finally stopped the ride after people on the ground screamed at them, Lynthacum said.
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Head and neck injuries were the most common at 28%, with 1.5% of the injuries requiring hospitalization, the study said.
