Lou BrownA woman who was injured when a fairground ride failed has spoken of the terrifying moment she hit the ground mid-air.
Louise Brown was on the 55m high City Star Flyer ride in Birmingham city center when it tilted backwards before falling on Thursday evening.
Two women were taken to the hospital while the other 11 patients were evaluated by medical personnel and released from the scene.
“It’s hard to process how one minute you can be innocently having fun and screaming in terror and then screaming because you could potentially lose your life,” Ms Brown said.
“It can never happen again – we are in shock and all I can think about is what would have happened if my children were on the ride.”
Miss Brown, who works for the BBC in Birmingham, said she suffered injuries to her face, legs and arms, adding that her partner also suffered injuries.
“We were having fun on it and then it crashed to the ground,” he said.
“It went backwards though, which I’ve never seen before.”
He said it felt like the ride was coming down but was “still quite high” before he fell and he “felt pain”.
Mr. ExplorerEmergency services were called to the crash in Centenary Square at 19:30 GMT.
A police cordon was set up between the ice rink, the library and the rap theater, with people asked to avoid the area.
Pictures taken by the BBC show the cables of at least two gondolas on the ride becoming entangled.
West Midlands Fire Service confirmed it had “fallen to the ground” during the operation.
An eyewitness told the BBC he saw “girls who looked injured” walking away from the area, “one girl with what appeared to be a cut on her face”.
Amelie Hewitt, 18, was at a nearby ice skate bar with a group of friends at the time.
She told the BBC that she went out on the balcony after hearing sirens and saw ambulances, police cars and fire engines.
“Someone told us the structure had collapsed and someone had fallen,” he said.
‘I feel lucky’
Lily Nitsch, 18, from Leamington Spa, was at the scene and told the BBC she was “very shocked” by the incident.
“It’s one of my favorite rides,” she said.
“It makes me think of all the times you’ve been on rides like this. It makes me feel lucky.”
Birmingham City Council said it was aware of the incident and its thoughts were with those injured.
The Health and Safety Executive was informed and said it appreciated the concern about the incident and was working with the relevant authorities.
“We also have experts who have been to the site today. There will be an investigation into what happened,” a spokesman added.
Brian Hughes, chairman of the Westside Business Improvement District (BID), said: “While we are pleased to hear that no one has suffered life-threatening injuries, it must have been a terrifying event to experience.”
He said the Westside BID had spoken to the owners of Ice Skate Birmingham, which operates the ride.
“We know they will now work with the authorities to find out what went wrong,” he added.
The City Star Flyer ride, supplied by funfair suppliers Dantor Attractions, has been described as “one of the tallest rides around”.
The company declined to comment when contacted, PA Media reported.