Several children killed in Australia bouncy castle tragedy
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Loading... - Thompson Holmes
- 16 Dec 2021
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Four children have been killed and several others seriously injured at an Australian school after a gust of wind threw their bouncy castle high up into the air.
Police said the students at a primary school in northern Tasmania were celebrating the last week of classes before the Christmas break when they were thrown from a height of about 10 metres (33 feet).
“I can now sadly confirm that four children have died and four are in a critical condition and one in a serious condition,” Tasmanian police commissioner Darren Hine said.
The victims were two boys and two girls from grade six – aged approximately 11 years old.
The incident occurred at about 10am local time on Thursday (23:00 GMT on Wednesday) at the Hillcrest Primary school, on an otherwise sunny, early summer day.
Local weather services had forecast “light winds” for the area, which sits on Tasmania’s rugged north coast, looking out across the frigid Bass Strait.
Following the incident, several rescue helicopters and ambulances rushed to the scene to take the injured to hospitals.
Images showed attending police officers in tears and blue tarpaulin sheets shielding what officers described as “a very confronting and distressing scene”.
A police investigation is under way. Witnesses, friends, family, teachers and first responders are being offered counselling.
Bob Smith, who lives near the school, told the ABC broadcaster that he saw the bouncy castle go up. Read More…
