A woman has been hospitalised and 11 other people were assessed after the fairground ride ‘collapsed’
A woman has been taken to hospital and 11 other people have been assessed after a fairground ride in Birmingham city centre “failed and crashed”.
West Midlands Police said that officers and paramedics were called to Centenary Square at 7.30pm on Thursday after “reports of an issue with one of the rides”.
West Midlands Ambulance Service said 11 other patients were assessed and discharged at the scene.
A spokesperson for the West Midlands Fire Service said: “This incident involved a fairground ride that had failed and crashed. The ride dropped to ground level whilst in operation.”
They added that they were not working to rescue any other people from the crash.
Images on X show wires from at least two gondolas on the 55-metre-tall City Flyer ride tangled up with each other.
A spokesperson for West Midlands Police said a “small number of people are being treated at the scene by paramedics”, but no serious injuries had been reported.
A police cordon is currently in place between the ice rink, the library and the Rep theatre, with people asked to avoid the area.
One witness at the scene told the BBC he saw “girls who appeared to be injured” walking away from the area, with “one girl who seemed to have her face cut”.
Lilly Nitsch, 18, from Leamington Spa, was at the scene and told the BBC she was “pretty shocked” by the incident.
“That’s one of my favourite rides growing up,” she said.
“It makes me think of of the times you’ve been on rides like that. It makes me feel lucky.”