Eight children in hospital after ride collapse before fireworks in Surrey
SKY News reports that, Eight children have suffered "potentially serious injuries" after a giant inflatable slide collapsed at a fairground before a fireworks display.
Police declared a major incident at Woking Park in Surrey after the children fell from the slide at about 7.30pm on Saturday.
An estimated 12,000 people had been gathered for a fireworks display organised by Woking District Rotary Club but after the incident, it was cancelled and the park was evacuated to allow the air ambulance to land.
According to SKY News, The eight children injured have been taken to major trauma centres, although there is no update on their conditions, South East Coast Ambulance Service said.
A young married couple from Woking, who were taking their nine-month-old son to his first fireworks event, told Sky News they saw the slide collapse before "around 15 to 20 children" fell from it.
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The husband, who did not wish to be named, said: "My wife and family were walking towards the slide at around 7.20pm and as we were approaching we saw the side [of the slide] began to buckle about half way or three-quarters of the way up.
"We heard kids screaming and then saw them begin to fall off the side.
"They all collapsed into a pile. We ran over to help.
"Some of them got up and ran away - we don't know but we are worried that they could have had head injuries."
The couple said that the remaining children may have been able to get up but they told them to stay still to avoid exacerbating any potential injuries.
As the husband called the ambulance, his first aid-trained sister-in-law tended to the children and his wife helped to find the children's parents.
The couple told Sky News they believe the slide buckled because too many children were climbing up to the top at the same time and they did not see anyone supervising numbers on the ride.
The organisers have pledged to conduct "a full review" into the incident and apologised "for the short notice cancellation of the Fireworks Extravaganza, caused by a serious accident which occurred in the funfair area during the build up".
Some attendees were criticised for asking for a refund on their tickets within hours of the slide's collapse.
Via SKY News