A five-year-old girl fell out of a Ferris wheel gondola while 30ft in the air, and plummeted to the ground with a loud thud.
Little Heloisa’s mum witnessed her daughter fall from the huge fairground ride, and immediately ran over to her crumpled body while screaming for help. Heloisa was on the ride with her 10-year-old sister, and a separate 15-year-old girl.
The trio climbed into the gondola at about midnight on Friday June 20, in Ipira, Brazil. When their carriage reached the very top of the Ferris wheel, the safety bar reportedly suddenly became unlocked. Heloisa subsequently fell out of the gondola head first, while her sister tried to hold onto the cabin.
The young girl fell about 10 metres all the way to the floor, while a huge crowd of onlookers screamed. Her mum initially tried to catch her, but Heloisa hit the ground with a loud thud.
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Mum Laiana later told local media: “I started hearing people scream and I ran to try to catch her, but there was no time. It all happened so fast.
“Her legs were bent and only one eye was open. I ran, crouched down next to her and started screaming for her to answer me.
“She hugged me and told me to stay calm, that God was watching over her. It was a miracle that it wasn’t more serious.”
Heloisa was taken to hospital for treatment and was discharged two days later, after suffering minor injuries. Laiane’s other daughter, however, suffered a broken foot while trying to hold onto the cabin when the lock became unlocked.
Laiane said: “Luckily they are fine, but it was a huge scare.”
The authorities said the ride passed inspection when it was being set up, adding that it was investigating the cause of the accident.
Meanwhile, a man died after a horrific accident at a theme park when one arm of the ride snapped in mid-air throwing two men off.
Insurance agent Tushar Dhumal, 35, suffered severe head injuries when the car he was sitting in detached from the machine, and although he was rushed to hospital he later died. His companion Vaibhav Rupnavar, 30, suffered a similar trauma to Mr Dhumal. He underwent emergency surgery and remained critical but stable.
Chilling footage captured by a bystander showed the moment the octopus-themed ride broke. The ride, designed to resemble the sea creature with independently spinning tentacles, spun clockwise. Each of the arms on the ride had four cars attached to it.
Suddenly, a loud bang was heard and the woman filming the video screamed. Mr Dhumal from Pune, India, was on the ride with three friends. Officials described the incident at Sayajiraje Park in Akluj, Anandnagar, India, as a “catastrophic malfunction”.