Two hospitalised after Birmingham city centre fairground ride ‘failed and crashed’

Two people have been hospitalised after a Birmingham Christmas fairground ride collapsed whilst in action tonight (12th December) in the city centre.

At least 13 people were treated for injuries after emergency services rushed to the scene at 7:30pm, with two women being taken to Midland Metropolitan University Hospital.

The West Midlands Ambulance Service has confirmed that the women were not thought to have suffered serious injuries, and the other injured parties were discharged at the scene.

According to a police statement last night, officers have cordoned off a section near the Star Flyer attraction in Centenary Square, and have asked people to avoid the area.

X user, Kanny, took to the social media site to share images of the 55 metre tall ride’s entangled seats and emergency services at the scene.

Birmingham German Markets – Swings tangled. Wow pic.twitter.com/g0xvNrWXMf

— Kanny (@Kannyzee) December 12, 2024

One of the injured women has now spoken to the BBC about the ordeal. Lou Brown was on the ride when it “collapsed”.

She said: “This can never happen again – we are in shock and all I can think of is what if my kids were on the ride.”

BBC worker, Lou, explained she suffered injuries to her face, legs and arms, and also added that her colleague was injured too.

“We were on it having fun and then it just crashed to the ground,” she told reporters.

“It went backwards first though, which I’ve never seen it do before.”

Lou also said it felt like the ride was going down but that it was “still quite high” before it descended, at which time she said she “felt pain”.

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The West Midlands Fire Service has put out a statement, saying: “This incident involved a fairground ride that had failed and crashed.

“The ride dropped to ground level whilst in operation.”

Birmingham City Council has said it was aware of the incident, and the Health and Safety Executive has been informed.

According to the BBC, Brian Hughes, the chairman of Westside Business Improvement District (BID), said: “While we are relieved to have heard that no-one has received life-threatening injuries, this must have been a terrible incident to experience.”

He also added that Westside BID has spoken to the owners of Ice Skate Birmingham, the ride’s operators, and explained that “[the company] will now be working closely with the authorities to find out exactly what went wrong.”

When approached by PA Media, Danter Attractions (the ride’s supplier) declined to comment.

Feature image via @Kannyzee on X