Horror as 2 girls thrown from ferris wheel at popular festival – one airlifted to hospital

Two girls were hospitalised after the incident (Image: WAFB)

Two girls were rushed to hospital after they were thrown from a Ferris wheel during a popular festival. The girls were flung out of the ride after a malfunction that led the pair to be tipped out of their seats and onto the metal platform on the floor of the wheel.

Witnesses reported chaos breaking out, with screams ringing out around the annual Harvest Festival in Louisiana. Officials confirmed one of the girls was airlifted in a helicopter to the hospital while the other was taken by road on Saturday, November 1. Although two days later, the news of their current conditions has not been released. One onlooker, Eddie Jones, said he was waiting in line for the Ferris wheel when he heard the screams and the “bodies falling.”

The Ferris wheel has been closed pending an investigation (Image: ABC)

He told CBS affiliate WAFB: “We were in line to buy tickets to the Ferris wheel, and I heard a girl scream.

“I looked over, and the Ferris wheel car was kicked over. I don’t know how it got in that position, but it was stuck.”

He added that after the fall, he could see the two girls injured and bleeding lying beneath the ride.

Jones added: “I’ll probably never get on another Ferris wheel. It should not have stuck like that — they had a major malfunction. Someone didn’t do something right, that’s for sure.”

The day before, one man who rode the wheel claims he felt uneasy, hearing “cracking noises” and reporting issues with the carts becoming stuck.

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Two young girls were rushed to the hospital after suffering injuries from the fall (Image: WAFB)

Ronald Brasseaux said: “It was cracking, like they need to take this down.

“When the Ferris wheel goes, it’s supposed to swing with it, but it got stuck. As it went around, it stayed at an angle; that’s when they flipped out of it.”

The local fire marshal confirmed that the ride and another slide at the fair have been shut down as they investigate its safety and try to find the source of the malfunction.

Following the fall, all the rides at the fair were closed and inspected, but according to Louisiana law, the ride would need to be inspected every time it is set up and open to the public.

The festival itself has yet to comment on the incident.