Funfair visitors noticed defects on carnival ride before 14-year-old girl's fall
The Energizer funfair ride from which a 14-year-old girl fell from a height of 8 meters on Monday showed several defects before the accident, funfair visitors and witnesses told the Telegraaf. They report a bracket coming loose, a headrest falling off, and the ride getting stuck for almost 15 minutes. The girl broke her arm in the fall.
One visitor, Sabien, showed the newspaper a video recorded the day before the girl’s fall. It shows a loose side bracket and a man anxiously trying to indicate that something was wrong.
“I was at the funfair in Hilversum [on Sunday] with my neighbors and my son, my neighbor was in the attraction,” she told the newspaper. “There was already a lot wrong with the device at the time. A bracket on my neighbor’s side was loose, and a headrest also flew off the attraction.”
She said she reported the defects to the ticket seller. “He reacted nonchalantly and said that nothing was wrong. He had already checked everything. But we were terrified. The children were anxiously calling for their father.”
Another funfair visitor reported the ride breaking down last week. “On Wednesday the 23rd, I was there with my son and the boy next door. We saw that people were hanging in the air for a long time. This lasted for at least 15 minutes, after which they could be safely removed from the device.”
A spokesperson for Bureau De Kermisgids, which is responsible for communicating about the accident in Hilversum, called the loose side bracket a harmless defect. “This is only to hold onto with your hands,” he said. He called it unlikely that a headrest could come loose because the object consists of one piece. “But it could be possible.”
The spokesperson called it unimaginable that this accident could have happened. “The moment an operator has the idea that something is wrong, he makes sure that the attraction is no longer open. It is his livelihood.”
The Energizer is shut down, but the rest of the Hilversum funfair is open. The Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) is investigating the accident involving the teenage girl.
