Horrified witnesses have described the moment a fairground ride was “vandalised”, catapulting a carriage into the crowd, and four people, including an 11-year-old girl, taken to hospital, as a major health and safety investigation begins.
Emergency services were called to the Lambeth Country Show venue in Brockwell Park, London, yesterday around 6.20pm.
Among the injured were an 11-year-old girl, a man in his 50s, another man in his 40s and a woman in her 40s.
Kareen Swaby, 41, had gone to the event to “just have a nice family day” with her loved ones before things took a terrifying turn.
Ms Swaby witnessed the shocking incident and told MailOnline how she saw a carriage on a ride “come off its hinges and hit the man on the head”.
She was standing next to a man who was injured on the trip and said, “There was blood coming out of his head.” She stood up and collapsed again. At that time, she didn’t know whether she was conscious or not.
Mrs. Swaby described how, as As the situation unfolded, he heard a “girl screaming at the top of her lungs.”
Emergency services were called to the scene in Brockwell Park today and four people were taken to hospital, according to police.
Horrified showground attendees told MailOnline how “all hell broke loose” and people were screaming and crying after a ride allegedly suffered a catastrophic failure, sending people “flying through the air”.
The rides stopped shortly after the incident, according to a witness.
She added: ‘So I said to him: are you okay? Where are your parents? Your family? With who? She said, that’s my grandfather. My grandfather, that’s him.
“So she’s screaming, he’s on the ground.”
The Metropolitan Police said “investigations are underway to establish the circumstances” and that “the Health and Safety Executive will be informed.”
Other fairgoers told MailOnline how “all hell broke loose” and people were screaming and crying after a ride allegedly suffered a catastrophic failure, sending people “flying through the air”.
One person described the scenes as “like a horror movie” and another added: “People were running towards us crying and screaming.”
A witness added: “People were running towards us and crying and screaming… He saw a lady with blood running down her face.” The paramedics took her off the ride.
‘When we were leaving, they were putting up higher fences where someone was on the ground, they were being treated by paramedics and the higher fences had black sheets around them and you couldn’t see, so someone was very hurt and they were giving them privacy.’
The witness said the rides stopped shortly after the incident and said: “I heard someone say that someone had gotten off the ride, but I didn’t see it.”
Another witness said: “They told me a ride collapsed and all hell broke loose.”
‘It was horrible. The screams were terrible. Four people flew out and flew into the air. “It was like a horror movie.”
The attraction that collapsed is believed to have been the ‘Froggit’ jump ‘n’ smile roundabout.
A Lambeth Council spokesperson said: “The incident was reported at around 6.20pm today and emergency services quickly arrived at the scene to treat four people who were injured.”
“Paramedics and teams on site cordoned off the area and the injured were taken to nearby hospitals for further treatment.
Another witness described the shocking incident as “like a horror scene.”
‘The situation is being closely monitored. The area around the attraction is safe and the fair has been closed.
“A thorough investigation is underway to determine the cause of the malfunction.
‘Additional safety inspections are being carried out on all show attractions.
‘We thank the emergency services for their quick response and dedication. “The safety and well-being of our visitors remains our top priority.”
Lambeth Police said: “Emergency services responded at around 6.20pm on Saturday to a funfair ride that had failed at the Lambeth Country Show in Brockwell Park.
‘Four people have been taken to hospital. We are awaiting an evaluation of their conditions. No one gets trapped in the journey.
And they added: ‘Investigations are being carried out to establish the circumstances. Cordons are placed in the place. The Health and Safety Executive will be informed.’
Police later added: “The four people taken to hospital from Brockwell Park are a man and woman in their 40s, a man in their 50s and a girl aged 11.
“None of the four are believed to be in life-threatening conditions. We are awaiting full hospital evaluations.”
A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We were called at 6.18pm today to reports of an incident in Brockwell Park, SE24.
‘We sent multiple resources to the scene, including four ambulance crews and members of our hazardous area response team. We also sent the London Air Ambulance.
“We treated four people on site and took them all to major trauma centers.”