An eight-year-old girl narrowly escaped death after she was flung 30ft into the air from a spinning ride at a fairground after slipping under the safety harness.
Nicole Wilson was at a fairground at Ocean Terminal in Edinburgh with her father Neil. She had gone on the Extreme ride while her father watched on. The girl was on the ride for around a minute until she came loose and flew through the air, over a fence and smashed into a board. She was rushed to Edinburgh’s Sick Kids Hospital. She sustained a broken pelvis and swelling on her head and face in the accident. Her body is also covered in scratches and bruises. She is to undergo further tests to determine whether or not she has sustained any internal injuries.
The ride called Extreme has six arms fixed to a central point holding six riders sitting in pairs on each. It spins riders around and tips them sideways and upside down. Each rider is held in with a safety bar that pulls down and locks in place and can be adjusted for each person. It seems that Nicole’s safety bar had not been adjusted accordingly.
Mr Wilson, 30 of Wester Hailes, Edinburgh, spoke of the moment he saw his daughter fly through the air: “I checked Nicole was tall enough for the ride against the chart and she was clearly above the 1.3 metre cut-off mark. Two guys strapped her in and it started. For a minute or two, everything seemed fine. Then I suddenly saw a figure flying through the air about 10ft off the ground. I knew instantly it was Nicole from her clothes. She cleared the perimeter fence and struck an advertising hoarding about 30ft away.”
Mr Wilson who works as a linesman for Scottish Power added: “I started running to her and saw a ride assistant scoop her into his arms and run with her to the control booth. When I got there she was crying and I was so relieved. I half expected her to be dead. She had blood all over her face. I don’t know why the guy picked her up but she had hit her head, and anyone knows you don’t move someone injured like that.”
The Health and Safety Executive is currently investigating the incident after inspectors visited the site for two days. The ride has been given the all clear and was reopened after checks were done by the manufacturer.
Nicole’s mother Kelly said: “I felt sick when Neil phoned to tell me what had happened. I was convinced when I got to go to the hospital they would tell me she had died. She has had a head scan and the doctors want to do a full body CAT scan for internal injuries.” She estimated that Nicole will be kept in hospital for the next few days.
The ride is part of a travelling funfair run by Strathclyde Park’s M&D’s. A spokeswoman for the firm said: “We can confirm that there was an incident on the Extreme ride, owned by Stanley Gamble, at approximately 3pm on Wednesday. As a precaution the young girl involved was taken to hospital. The ride was closed down immediately and the Health and Safety Executive was informed.”