"Nothing like this has ever happened before" 16 injured people hospitalized after Ferris wheel fire

Thousands of people are having a great time at the Highfield Festival near Leipzig. But while rapper Ski Aggu is performing on stage, a Ferris wheel suddenly catches fire 100 meters away.

Keystone-SDA

18.08.2024, 16:00

SDA

Two gondolas were engulfed in flames several meters high. There was no catastrophe because the people on the Ferris wheel were able to leave the ride in time. But there are numerous injuries.

According to the police, 16 people have to be treated in hospital, including four with burn injuries and one person with a fall injury. Some of the injured, including first responders and at least four police officers, were to be examined for possible smoke inhalation. In total, 65 people required medical treatment during the incident. The good news is that no one suffered life-threatening injuries.

Initial findings on the cause

The big question that festival-goers were still asking themselves on site: How could this happen? Investigators have been looking into why a fire broke out in one of the 24 gondolas of the Ferris wheel since the incident on Saturday evening at around 9.00 pm. According to an initial assessment, material underneath the ride caught fire in a way that is not yet known. The fire spread to a gondola. The investigation is ongoing.

Festival visitor: Suddenly it was dead quiet

Festival visitor Guido from Cologne reported during the night that the Ferris wheel suddenly sped up. The burning gondolas were then at the very top. "Then there was dead silence," said the 58-year-old.

40-year-old Stephanie from Werdau in Saxony was particularly shocked. According to her, she had been on the Ferris wheel herself just a few minutes before the fire. "We somehow smelled plastic and thought it was coming from the campsite," she said. When she then saw the flames on the gondolas, she could hardly believe how narrowly she had escaped. The festival was interrupted for around two hours, then the show went on.

Ski Aggu kept rapping during the fire - to avoid panic

When the first flames became visible, rapper Ski Aggu was on stage. A short time later, the 26-year-old wrote in an Instagram story: "I'm absolutely devastated and shocked about the Ferris wheel fire during my show at Highfield. I was just told on my ear that I should not stop the show under any circumstances, but should first stay in dialog with you so that there is no mass panic."

The priority was to prevent the situation from escalating any further, explained Ski Aggu. Fortunately, that also worked. "Thank you all for staying so calm and preventing anything worse from happening." The work of the emergency services, who reacted quickly, was crucial to this. "Thank you for your service! I wish all those affected that you feel better soon," wrote the rapper from Berlin, whose real name is August Jean Diederich and whose trademark is a pair of ski goggles.

Depressed mood after the fire

Festival visitor Ricky, who had traveled from the Harz Mountains, was initially undecided after the fire as to whether the concerts should continue. The 27-year-old felt the atmosphere was depressed, but praised the organizers: "There were clear announcements and we knew what had happened."

Bastian from Leipzig also said that the emergency services arrived quickly. After the incident, he had the feeling that many people were now drawn to their tents - and would rather end the evening there to talk about what they had experienced, said the 33-year-old.

Operator: Fire broke out while changing passengers

The morning after, with the site of the fire cordoned off, the first festival guests stroll through the grounds. A fire expert has now arrived to investigate the cause of the incident. The operator of the Ferris wheel, Sebastian Hannstein from Bremen, is also standing next to the ride in the morning. The plastic of one gondola has completely melted away, leaving only a steel skeleton. Two other gondolas are covered in soot.

The fire started when passengers were changing, Hannstein told the German Press Agency. "My employees told me that there were no people in the gondola when the fire broke out." He was shocked and stunned. "My family has been operating Ferris wheels for generations. Nothing like this has ever happened before," he emphasized.

Ferris wheel was only seven years old

His employees had the presence of mind to react when they saw the flames, explained Hannstein. "They sped up the Ferris wheel and thus accelerated the evacuation of the other gondolas." The operator was unable to say how many people were in the other gondolas when the fire broke out.

According to the operator, the Ferris wheel is 38 meters high and has 24 gondolas. "The ride is seven years old. That's no age for a Ferris wheel. I have one that is 30 years old."