A FATHER was killed and his toddler seriously injured on Sunday after an inflatable structure was violently lifted by the wind at a waterpark.
The 35-year-old man and his three-year-old daughter were trapped inside the ride at Wonderland Waterpark in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region of France when it was blown 160ft.
BFM TVThe waterpark accident occurred on Sunday after the wind lifted the structure and propelled it 160ft[/caption]
BFM TVThe father died in hospital following the incident[/caption]
Both of the injured were airlifted to hospital yesterday following the horror accident in the popular resort town of Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume.
However the town’s mayor, Alain Decanis, later announced that the father had died.
“It is with great sadness that I learned late in the evening that the dad had not survived,” he wrote.
Decanis explained that the father and daughter had been playing when the inflatable structure – around 65ft long – was picked up by strong winds and “projected violently about fifty meters”.
“The firefighters and other rescuers arrived very quickly at the scene, but the situation was already critical when the two victims were airlifted to Marseille hospitals,” he added.
“How could a water park that we had accepted on the municipal territory to bring joy and happiness to children turn into a machine of death that struck down an entire family?”
An investigation is ongoing into the tragedy.
The Mayor also said: “I would like to offer my most sincere condolences to the mother present on the scene, who has shown remarkable courage, as well as to all the members of the family.”
Local media reported that the area was on red alert for forest fires due to the aggressive 34 miles per hour winds.
The Wonderland Park had only opened this summer.
BFM TVThe duo had been airlifted to hospital in Marseille after the incident[/caption]
