Woman killed, another seriously injured, as funfair ride crashes mid air

A woman was killed and another was seriously injured when their swing chair was thrown from a funfair ride in France, emergency services have revealed.

The pair had been more than 33 feet in the air in one of several seats spinning around a central mast when their capsule was tossed to the ground in Firminy, near Saint-Étienne, on Monday.

When rescuers arrived at the scene, a 24-year-old woman who had been seated inside the fallen pod was declared dead.

A second woman, 20, was rushed to hospital to be treated for her injuries, the fire brigade said.


Images from the scene show numerous emergency vehicles parked near to the swing carousel ride as crowds gather close to the scene.

Police said four people - the owners and operators of the swing carousel and a neighbouring attraction - had been taken into custody following the incident.

Experts made their way to the scene on Tuesday to examine the rides, which were both under lockdown, to determine the cause of the tragedy.