Two people taken to hospital after ride collapses at Christmas fair

Two people were taken to hospital after an incident on a fairground ride in Birmingham. The West Midlands Fire Service said the City Flyer ride had dropped to ground level “whilst in operation” in Centenary Square.

Thirteen people were treated by West Midlands Ambulance Service with two taken to Midland Metropolitan University Hospital. The ambulance service said the two people taken to hospital were not believed to have suffered serious injuries, while the remaining casualties were discharged at the scene.

Emergency services were called to the scene at 7.30pm on Thursday. “This incident involved a fairground ride that had failed and crashed,” the fire service said.

“The ride dropped to ground level whilst in operation.” The fire service added that they were not working to rescue any other people from the crash.

Pictures from the scene posted to social media appear to show wires from two of the swings tangled up. A police cordon was in place around the scene. Danter Attractions, who manage the ride, declined to comment when contacted about the incident.

Brian Hughes, chairman of Westside BID, issued a statement following the accident on the Star Flyer ride. Mr Hughes said: “Our first thoughts are with those who have been injured. While we are relieved to have heard that no-one has received life-threatening injuries, this must have been a terrible incident to experience.

“We have already spoken with the owners of Ice Skate Birmingham, which operates the ride, and we know that they will now be working closely with the authorities to find out exactly what went wrong.”