Highfield festival fire: Over 20 injured in Ferris wheel blaze
Tragic events occurred during the rock and pop festival by Lake Stoermthal in Germany, involving people who decided to take advantage of a popular tourist attraction, namely the Ferris wheel.
Two Ferris wheel gondolas caught fire late Saturday evening at the Highfield Festival near Leipzig, injuring more than 20 people. Investigators are trying to determine what happened, and a fire expert is on the scene.
How could the fire have started?
"The expert has been at the festival grounds since early morning and has started the investigation," said a police spokeswoman, quoted by the dpa agency. At this point, attention is focused on how the accident could have occurred.
On Saturday, one of the 24 Ferris wheel gondolas caught fire first, then spread to the second gondola.
Burned and injured from the fall
Investigators are still trying to determine what exactly happened in those few minutes. According to the police, at least 23 people were injured and taken to hospitals - four of them suffered burns, and one was injured as a result of a fall.
The other injured individuals, including rescuers and at least four police officers, were examined in the hospital for possible smoke inhalation.
The morning after the fire, the police could not provide any information about the condition of the injured, their age, and gender. The spokeswoman said the exact number of injured has not yet been finalized.
"The rock and pop festival by Lake Stoermthal, with around 30,000 guests, was interrupted for about two hours. The show then continued," the "Welt" newspaper reported.
