MELBOURNE, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA — For most youngsters in Tasmania, Australia’s island state, Thursday marked the end of the school year. A primary school in the small city of Devonport wanted to celebrate with dancing, games, and a bouncy castle, and gigantic inflatable Zorb balls on the large field behind the building.
A tragedy was unfolding by 10 a.m. as a result of a bizarre accident on the school field.
According to the authorities, “a strong” blast of wind blew the bouncy inflatable castle and the Zorb balls high into the air while some youngsters were on it. Nine kids plummeted to the ground from a height of more than 30 feet.
The first death was confirmed at noon, the second at 1:45 p.m. and the third and fourth by late afternoon. Five sixth-graders at Hillcrest Primary School had died by early evening.
Ambulances and helicopters arrived quickly. Some of the youngsters were treated there, while others were transported to the hospital.
Darren Hine, Tasmania’s police commissioner, called Thursday’s events “one of the most horrific tragedies any of us will ever endure.”
Other youngsters had been gravely hurt, and another was in a bad state, according to him. None of the students have identified right away.
Commissioner Hine refused to specify how many kids were on the bouncy castle or whether it was secured to the ground. He said the police were working with the state’s health and safety agency to investigate the incident and will create a report for the coroner.
“On a day when these kids were supposed to be celebrating the end of the school year, we’re all mourning their death,” Commissioner Hine said.
Hillcrest is one of Devonport’s six primary schools, serving a population of 25,000 people. According to one Facebook post, the “huge day-in” of Hillcrest festivities was set to take place from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Arts and crafts activities, a “wet play zone” featuring a slippery slide, and a bouncy castle was among the activities scheduled.
The school announced on social media that it was closing for the day following the tragedy. They said, “As a matter of urgency, we request that parents come and pick up their children.”
A page on GoFundMe, which helps families that were impacted, had raised more than 30,000 Australian dollars (around $21,000) in three hours by Thursday afternoon.
Hillcrest Primary School forwarded a reporter from CSU to the Department of Education when asked for comment.
The incidents were described by Prime Minister Scott Morrison as “shattering” and “unthinkably painful.”
It was one of the most dangerous bouncy castle incidents in recent memory.
A dust devil blew a bouncy castle high into the air in Henan Province, China, in 2019, killing two children and injuring 20 more. In 2018, one kid was killed in the United Kingdom after being tossed from one. After a bouncy castle blew away in Essex, England, killing a 7-year-old girl in 2016, two carnival workers were convicted of manslaughter by gross negligence and sentenced to three years in prison.
Two kids were thrown from a bounce house. It went so high that they couldn’t reach it. One kid landed in the street and the other on a car.
In the inflatable, a 10-year-old child suffered minor injuries. However, one of the boys sustained a significant brain injury and was put into a medically induced coma. According to local accounts, one of the victims had broken limbs, a shattered jaw, and other injuries.
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