A school event in Australia turned tragic this week when strong winds lifted a bouncy castle filled with children 32 feet in the air, killing five and leaving four in the hospital with serious injuries, CNN reports.
The tragedy occurred on the north coast of Tasmania at the Hillcrest Primary School in Devonport, where the children were celebrating their last day of primary school. Due to turbulent weather conditions in the area, police say the wind caused the inflatable to lift up in the air with the children inside, and then plummet to the ground.
“Nine grade 5/6 Hillcrest Primary School students fell from a height of around 10 meters after a significant local wind event caused a jumping castle and several inflatable ‘zorb’ balls to lift into the air about 10 am,” Tasmanian Police said in a statement.
Of the five children that passed away, two of them were identified to be Addison Stewart and Zane Gardam. The other two were one boy and girl, while the gender of the fifth child who died in the hospital has yet to be confirmed. Children at Australian Primary schools are usually between the ages of 10 to 12.
Addison’s aunt penned a tribute to her late niece on the family’s GoFundMe page, reflecting on their tragic loss.
“My niece was tragically taken in the accident at Hillcrest Primary. I’m hoping to raise some money for my brother and sister in-law to help pay for funeral costs and to pay off some bills for them while they try and navigate life without their precious daughter,” she wrote.
A family friend of Zane’s set up a separate GoFundMe for the child, who was autistic, and wrote about how caring he was.
“Zane was such a beautiful caring, gentle soul who had challenges growing up with his autism and (ADHD) but that never set him back he kept achieving,” they said in the post.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison also shared his thoughts and prayers to the families after the incident during his remarks to the press, calling it a “horrific tragedy.”
“Young children on a fun day out, together with their families and it turns to such a horrific tragedy, at this time of year, it just breaks your heart,” he said.
It has yet to be revealed if any of the families will pursue legal action against the school.
