By Deutsche Welle
Aug 18, 2024, 7:37 PM EDT
A Ferris wheel at a music festival in the eastern German city of Leipzig caught fire, injuring 30 people on Saturday night, police said, adding that the fire may have been caused by two burning baskets.
Images published by the press show thick black smoke escaping from two burning baskets at the top of the wheel. The fire apparently started in one of the baskets and then spread to another, during the Highfield Festival at Lake Stoermthaler.
Four people with burns
The fire was brought under control by firefighters, but four people suffered burns and another was injured in a fall, the source added. The remaining 18 injured were affected by breathing smoke.
In addition to the users, members of the police and firefighters were injured during their intervention, according to the spokesman.
They investigate the cause of the fire
“All the people were taken to nearby hospitals using rescue helicopters,” the spokesman added.
By Sunday morning, police were still unable to provide specific information on the condition of the injured. The exact number of victims had not yet been determined.
Authorities said the ride operator said there were no passengers sitting in the cabin where the fire started.
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