Over 30 injured as ferris wheel catches fire at German music festival
All victims suffered suffocation from smoke inhalation after the two gondolas on the wheels caught fire.
LEIPZIG: More than 30 people were injured after a Ferris wheel at the Highfield Festival near the eastern German city of Leipzig caught fire on Saturday, the German News Agency, dpa, reported.
A police spokesperson said based on preliminary investigations, all the victims suffered from suffocation due to smoke inhalation after the two gondolas on the wheels caught fire.
However, the head of German Red Cross operations said two people were also seriously injured in the incident.
The police spokesman was initially unable to comment on the information.
He however confirmed that four police officers were among the injured.
The cause of the fire is still undetermined.
According to a dpa reporter at the scene of the incident, two gondolas were completely destroyed in the fire around 9 that night.
A festival-goer from Cologne said the Ferris wheel suddenly spun rapidly. The burning gondola is at the very top of the wheel.
German rapper Ski Aggu was performing when the fire broke out.
Meanwhile, a fire department spokesman told dpa that the situation was brought under control about 30 minutes after the fire started.
