A woman injured when a 180ft Christmas fair ride crashed to the ground has told of the terrifying moment she staggered backwards before falling.
Louise Brown was on the City Starflyer swing in Birmingham city center when it crashed.
Ms Brown, a mother who works at the BBC in the city, said: “This can never happen again – we are in shock and all I can think about is what would happen if my children were on the trip.”
Ms Brown suffered injuries to her face, legs and arms, adding that her colleague was also injured. The images show her with cuts and bruises on her face.
“We were having fun and then it crashed to the ground,” he said.
‘It seemed like we were descending, not to the highest point but quite high. We just fell.
“However, he backed away first, something I had never seen him do before.”
Louise Brown (pictured) was on the City Starflyer swing in Birmingham city center when it crashed.
About 13 people were injured during the accident (the consequences of the incident are shown in the photo)
The Christmas fairground has been closed after a ride collapsed in Birmingham on Thursday night (pictured is part of the damaged ride)
Police at the cordoned off Star Flyer promenade in Centenary Square, Birmingham, on Friday morning.
Pictured is the scene of the incident on Friday morning, with the journey blocked by police.
Police and emergency services were called to the scene and cordoned off an area around the attraction in Centenary Square following the incident on Thursday night.
Video footage shared on social media shows chaotic scenes as rescue teams cordoned off the area around the popular attraction. The images also appear to show several nacelles tangled in cables.
Shocked witnesses describe hearing people “screaming in terror” as the ride crashed to the ground.
John Spence, 45, from Warwick, was at the showground with his wife Julie, 42, and son Harris, ten.
He said: “We were near the ride when we heard screams. They weren’t your normal excited screams, they were terrified screams.
“There was a loud hiss and a bang and then chaos. There were many people in high visibility jackets running to help people out of the vehicle.
‘A few minutes later the sirens were heard. The emergency services were amazing and everyone was very calm.
“We stayed out of the way because we didn’t want to make the situation worse but piled on.”
Emergency services are seen at the scene of the disaster in Birmingham.
Police have closed the route while the investigation into the collapse continues today.
Two people have been taken to hospital after a 180ft fairground ride ‘failed and crashed’ in Birmingham city center (pictured, the fairground on Friday morning)
Another witness said: “We saw some of the people being helped off the ride and several had bloody faces and were crying.”
“It was really shocking.”
Clips of the terrifying aftermath show eyewitnesses describing how the ride suddenly collapsed, saying in disbelief: “it was up there and it fell, the thing fell.”
A passerby was heard saying there was “blood on someone’s face,” he reports. The sun.
West Midlands Fire Service confirmed it had “fallen to the ground” while in operation.
A witness told the BBC he saw “girls who looked injured” walking away from the area, with “one girl who looked like her face was cut.”
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: “On arrival, crews found 13 patients.
‘Two women were treated by ambulance staff for injuries that were not believed to be serious and taken to Midland Metropolitan University Hospital.
“Nine women and three men were assessed by doctors before receiving self-care advice and being discharged on site.”
In the photo there appears an ambulance that appears to be rushing to the scene after the accident.
Centenary Square, Birmingham, following the accident, with emergency services at the scene
Paramedics appeared to have a stretcher ready when they responded to the scene.
A picture of one of the broken chairs that were spinning during the attraction.
An image from a Star Flyer trip in Digbeth in August 2024.
The City Starflyer attraction is provided by amusement park providers Danter Attractions and is described as “one of the tallest attractions around”.
The company declined to comment.
Brian Hughes, president of Westside BID, the business improvement district for the area that includes Centenary Square, said in a statement: “Our first thought is of those who have been injured.
“While we are relieved to know that no one has suffered life-threatening injuries, this must have been a terrible incident.
“We have already spoken to the owners of Ice Skate Birmingham, who operate the attraction, and we know they will now be working closely with the authorities to find out exactly what went wrong.”