Germany: Ferris wheel catches fire at Leipzig music festival
Aug 18, 2024
Leipzig [Germany], August 18: A ferris wheel caught fire at a music festival on the outskirts of the city of Leipzig in the eastern German state of Saxony late on Saturday.
The cause of the fire was initially unclear.
Police said that more than 30 people were injured, but that preliminary indications were that these injuries were mostly comparatively mild cases of smoke inhalation.
Germany's Red Cross however said that two people were more seriously hurt.
Police said four officers were among those hurt.
A police spokesperson was later cited by the France's AFP news agency as saying that four people suffered burn injuries and one person was injured from falling.
A rescue helicopter was used in the operation, according to police.
The ferris wheel caught fire at around 9 p.m. local time (1900 UTC/GMT). The fire first broke out in one passenger car and spread to a neighboring one.
Many people at the scene captured images and videos and shared them online.
German rapper Ski Aggu said in a video posted to Instagram that he was told to continue performing during the blaze.
"I was just told through my earpiece that I should not end the show under any circumstances," he said, adding that this was done to avoid "mass panic."
The Highfield Festival describes itself as an Indie-Rock music festival and was set to close this Sunday. It was held in the Grossposna outer suburb of Leipzig.
Organisers said that around 30,000 people attended the event.
In a separate incident on Saturday, Leipzig police broke up a far-right demonstration near a Leipzig Pride event.
Source: Times of Oman
