An amusement park ride crashed on the first day of the Ohio State Fair which killed at least one person and wounded seven people, reported by CNN.
What happened at the Ohio State Fair?
According to the chief of the Columbus fire battalion, Steve Martin, five people are in life-threatening condition and two others are out of danger at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. He also added that a person that died was on the ride - according to The Guardian.
The incident happened around 7:20 pm ( local time) on July 26. The ride called "the Fire Ball" which spins like a pendulum and consists 6 rows for seating was broken apart while moving with people inside.
The fair would restart on Thursday but the rides will be running only after proper inspection, fair officials said.
A video footage shot by a viewer shows that the Fire Ball was swinging like a pendulum in a back and forth motion and suddenly its parts split into the pieces while in the air and threw all the people inside it to the ground.
Witnesses and officials' statement
Republican governor John Kasich stated that he was extremely saddened by this tragedy and a person who lost his life and people who were wounded while enjoying the ride. He also ordered the full investigation of rides. The Ohio's agriculture director, David Daniels, said inspectors did not find anything unusual while conducting the inspections of a ride.
The Ohio state fair will be finished on August 6.
"There has been a report of a ride incident. We are investigating and will report information as available,” Kasich wrote on his Twitter account. The operator of the ride said that the "aggressive thrill" is one of the popular thrill rides since 2002.
One of the witnesses, Rhonda Burgess said that her son was in the queue at the another ride near the tragedy place.
She said,"at least two people flew through the air at least 20 feet before landing on their backs on the concrete." The chief ride inspector of the Amusement Ride Safety Division, Michael Vartorella, said that his children and grandchildren ride this equipment.
Thousands of people come to the Ohio State Fair to enjoy the ride, food, and sculpture.
The organizers said that more than nine hundred people visited the fair last year. They also said, "Our hearts are heavy for the families of those involved in last night's tragic accident." The inspections were stopped for a while due to recent rain, reported by the Columbus Dispatch.
