Five Family Members Fall To Deaths From Ferris Wheel
Posted August 13, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
What was supposed to be a fun ride on an amusement park Ferris wheel turned into a tragedy that claimed the lives of five family members in South Korea Monday.
Seven family members were riding in a car on the wheel when the capsule unexpectedly turned over, dumping the family out and sending them plunging 20 metres to their deaths.
Two members of the family clung to handholds and survived without injury, police officer Yoon Jae-man said. Unfortunately, the others weren’t so lucky.
Jeon Un-sung, 70, one of those rescued from the ill-fated car in the southern city of Busan, said “the slowly moving gondola suddenly stopped and turned upside down and family members fell in a flash” when the window behind the seats fell out of the car.
Among the dead were a 68-year-old woman, a seven-year-old boy and a 28-year-old woman who survived the initial fall and was taken to hospital where she later died. The two other victims are unidentified.
The ride in question is the 66-metre-high “Giant Wheel,” which boasted 42 cars and was among 30 rides at the World Carnival mobile amusement park that opened in Busan in July for a 40-day run. Previously, the carnival was in Hong Kong.
Police are still investigating the fatal accident and interviewing witnesses.
Photo Credit: Choi Jae-Ho/AFP/Getty Images
