Vic boy thrown from carnival ride fights for life
Police say the man died when sheets of stone shifted and fell on him. Photo: Supplied.
A five-year-old boy who was critically injured when he fell from an amusement ride on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula may have been on the ride after the carnival had closed, WorkSafe has said.
The boy was on the Cha Cha at an event in Rye at 5pm on Monday when he was flung from the fast-moving ride.
“Initial inquiries indicate that the ride may have been used by carnival workers and their families after the carnival had closed,” WorkSafe Victoria said in a statement Tuesday.
“WorkSafe was at the scene last night and issued a notice to ensure the scene was not disturbed so investigations could continue today.
“Inquiries will focus on a number of issues, in particular the height requirements for riders, to determine if all safety procedures had been followed.”
The boy was airlifted to the Royal Children’s Hospital in a critical condition with head and hand injuries.
A parent, who was on the ride with their two children, told Fairfax Media the ride lasted about five minutes before the boy was flung out.
“The attendant announced it was the last ride of the day for the Cha Cha and there appeared to be a number of carnival workers and relatives of workers on the ride,” the parent said.
Others have described the scene as “awful”.
Australia was stunned by the tragedy on Dreamworld’s Thunder River Rapids ride. Photo: ABC
The boy was airlifted to the Royal Children’s Hospital on Monday night.
WorkSafe is investigating the incident.
According to the Wittingslow Amusements website, 44 people can be on the ride at any one time and people have to be over 130cm tall to take the ride.
In 2014, eight-year-old Adelene Leong dies after being thrown from a high-speed ride at the Royal Adelaide Show.
And last year, four adults died on the Thunder River Rapids ride at Dreamworld on the Gold Coast.
Major amusement park accidents since 1968
- April 17, 2017 – Primary school aged boy critically injured after being thrown from the Cha Cha ride at the Rye carnival on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula.
- October 25, 2016 – Four adults die on the Thunder River Rapids ride after becoming trapped on a conveyor belt when their raft flipped at Dreamworld, Queensland.
- September 12, 2014 – Eight-year-old Adelene Leong dies after being thrown from a high-speed ride at the Royal Adelaide Show.
- May 18, 2013 – Five-year-old boy seriously injured after being flung from the Frizbee ride at a school fete in Highfields, Queensland.
- March 11, 2001 – Eight-year-old girl dies and 11 people injured when an inflatable carriage breaks free from a ride at a carnival in Kapunda, South Australia.
- Sept 2, 2000 – Thirty-seven people hurt when the Spin Dragon ride collapses and drops a 4.3 tonne gondola onto queuing riders at the Royal Adelaide Show.
- Feb 22, 1997 – 11-year-old girl dies and two boys injured when a carriage on the Octopus ride breaks free and falls to the ground at the Rylstone Show near Mudgee, NSW.
- June 9, 1979 – Six children and one adult die when Sydney’s Luna Park’s Ghost Train catches fire. This occurred two months after 13 people were injured on the Big Dipper when a steel runner came loose on a rollercoaster train on April 16.
- October 24 1968 – High-wire stuntman Adrian Labans, 44, falls to his death during a high wire act at the Royal Hobart Show.