Latest news with #LaerskoolProtearif
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- General
- Daily Mirror
Children plummet from bouncy castle blown away in front of terrified parents
Two children were left with injuries after the untethered bouncy castle was carried high into the air by a gust of wind at a school event in Krugersdorp, South Africa Terrified parents were forced to helplessly watch on as their children were carried into the air and dropped several metres to the ground below by a flying bouncy castle. Two school pupils were carried 40 feet (12 metres) into the air after high winds caught the untethered inflatable during a fund-raising day at a school in South Africa. Footage captured the moment eyewitnesses screamed in in terror at the Laerskool Protearif primary at Krugersdorp, in West Rand, Gauteng Province. One shocked-looking attendant was seen looking on and anxiously staring back at the camera as a child lost their grasp and plummets onto a group of parents forming a human crash pad. The parents quick reaction saved the child, but she was left seriously injured and taken to hospital alongside a second youngster who was also caught by the group. One was reportedly left with a fractured skull and the other a broken arm. It is not clear how many or if any other children were on board and managed to cling on inside the bouncy castle, which landed about 50 feet from where it took off. The fundraising event held last Saturday on the school playing fields attended by over 1000 parents, pupils and friends. School headmaster Deon Lourens declined to comment but a statement on the school Facebook site confirmed two learners were rushed to the nearest A&E unit. It revealed that one child, thought to be the one with the broken arm, was released the same day, and the other with a fractured skull, was released three days later. The statement read that both children were receiving trauma counselling but added: 'It is with great gratitude that we are happy to share the very good news with you. 'The two children who sustained injuries during the fracture accident at the Protea festival on Saturday were discharged from hospital on 31/5 and 3/6 respectively." 'The necessary trauma-counselling was given to both children, as well as to their co-learners, who experienced the event and thank you all for standing together. We thank you very much for everyone's positive support, help and prayers." An eye-witness with two pupils at the school, who asked not to be named for fear of getting her children into trouble. They said: 'When they fell I thought they were dead. I was watching from a food stall with my girls when I heard screaming and turned around and just saw this blue, green and red thing shooting up to the heavens. 'Then there was a huge scream when first one child and then another fell out but of all the places they could have landed it was right over a group of parents below. They reached up their arms to try to catch the falling children and undoubtedly saved their lives or saved them from much worse injuries by cushioning them. 'It was not a very windy day but it seemed this huge gust just came from nowhere and it was said the bouncy castle had not been secured to the ground."
The Citizen
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Citizen
Watch: Airborne jumping castle: 2 children injured, Krugersdorp school speaks out
Warning: Video may upset sensitive viewers. Screams erupted at Krugersdorp's Laerskool Protearif's Proteafees music festival on Saturday, when a strong gust of wind lifted a jumping castle into the air, flinging two children to the ground and leaving them injured. Krugersdorp News reports that the terrifying incident, captured on video and widely shared on social media, left festivalgoers and the broader Krugersdorp community shaken. According to a statement issued by the school, both children were treated in hospital and have since been discharged – one on Saturday and the other on Tuesday. Trauma counselling was provided to the injured children and fellow learners, who witnessed the incident. 'Thank you for everyone's positive support, help and prayers. 'What a privilege that Laerskool Protearif can always rely on our parents and the wider community to stand together in difficult times,' the statement reads. Laerskool Protearif also confirmed the incident on its Facebook page. Krugersdorp News reached out to Gauteng Department of Education spokesperson Steve Mabona for comment, but no response had been received at the time of publishing. This is a developing story. Krugersdorp News will provide updates as they become available. WARNING: The following video may upset sensitive viewers. Jumping castle disaster at Proteafees: Two children injured in wind-driven incident. — Krugersdorp News (@KrugersdorpNews) June 6, 2025 Breaking news at your fingertips… Follow Caxton Network News on Facebook and join our WhatsApp channel. Nuus wat saakmaak. Volg Caxton Netwerk-nuus op Facebook en sluit aan by ons WhatsApp-kanaal. Read original story on At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
The Citizen
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Citizen
Airborne jumping castle: 2 children injured, Krugersdorp school speaks out
Warning: Video may upset sensitive viewers. Screams erupted at Krugersdorp's Laerskool Protearif's Proteafees music festival on Saturday, when a strong gust of wind lifted a jumping castle into the air, flinging two children to the ground and leaving them injured. Krugersdorp News reports that the terrifying incident, captured on video and widely shared on social media, left festivalgoers and the broader Krugersdorp community shaken. According to a statement issued by the school, both children were treated in hospital and have since been discharged – one on Saturday and the other on Tuesday. Trauma counselling was provided to the injured children and fellow learners, who witnessed the incident. 'Thank you for everyone's positive support, help and prayers. 'What a privilege that Laerskool Protearif can always rely on our parents and the wider community to stand together in difficult times,' the statement reads. Laerskool Protearif also confirmed the incident on its Facebook page. Krugersdorp News reached out to Gauteng Department of Education spokesperson Steve Mabona for comment, but no response had been received at the time of publishing. This is a developing story. Krugersdorp News will provide updates as they become available. WARNING: The following video may upset sensitive viewers. Jumping castle disaster at Proteafees: Two children injured in wind-driven incident. — Krugersdorp News (@KrugersdorpNews) June 6, 2025 Breaking news at your fingertips… Follow Caxton Network News on Facebook and join our WhatsApp channel. Nuus wat saakmaak. Volg Caxton Netwerk-nuus op Facebook en sluit aan by ons WhatsApp-kanaal. Read original story on At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- General
- Daily Mirror
Parents watch in horror as children plummet from flying bouncy castle
Two children were left with injuries after the untethered bouncy castle was carried high into the air by a gust of wind at a school event in Krugersdorp, South Africa Terrified parents were forced to helplessly watch on as their children were carried into the air and dropped several metres to the ground below by a flying bouncy castle. Two school pupils were carried 40 feet (12 metres) into the air after high winds caught the untethered inflatable during a fund-raising day at a school in South Africa. Footage captured the moment eyewitnesses screamed in in terror at the Laerskool Protearif primary at Krugersdorp, in West Rand, Gauteng Province. One shocked-looking attendant was seen looking on and anxiously staring back at the camera as a child lost their grasp and plummets onto a group of parents forming a human crash pad. The parents quick reaction saved the child, but she was left seriously injured and taken to hospital alongside a second youngster who was also caught by the group. One was reportedly left with a fractured skull and the other a broken arm. It is not clear how many or if any other children were on board and managed to cling on inside the bouncy castle, which landed about 50 feet from where it took off. The fundraising event held last Saturday on the school playing fields attended by over 1000 parents, pupils and friends. School headmaster Deon Lourens declined to comment but a statement on the school Facebook site confirmed two learners were rushed to the nearest A&E unit. It revealed that one child, thought to be the one with the broken arm, was released the same day, and the other with a fractured skull, was released three days later. The statement read that both children were receiving trauma counselling but added: 'It is with great gratitude that we are happy to share the very good news with you. 'The two children who sustained injuries during the fracture accident at the Protea festival on Saturday were discharged from hospital on 31/5 and 3/6 respectively." 'The necessary trauma-counselling was given to both children, as well as to their co-learners, who experienced the event and thank you all for standing together. We thank you very much for everyone's positive support, help and prayers." An eye-witness with two pupils at the school, who asked not to be named for fear of getting her children into trouble. They said: 'When they fell I thought they were dead. I was watching from a food stall with my girls when I heard screaming and turned around and just saw this blue, green and red thing shooting up to the heavens. 'Then there was a huge scream when first one child and then another fell out but of all the places they could have landed it was right over a group of parents below. They reached up their arms to try to catch the falling children and undoubtedly saved their lives or saved them from much worse injuries by cushioning them. 'It was not a very windy day but it seemed this huge gust just came from nowhere and it was said the bouncy castle had not been secured to the ground."
Scottish Sun
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Terrifying moment bouncy castle takes off in freak wind flying 40ft into air sending children plunging back to earth
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THIS is the shocking moment a freak wind sent a bouncy castle soaring 40 feet up into the air, injuring two children. It unfolded at a fundraising day at a school in South Africa, where an unexpected gust flicked the castle into the sky. 5 Brief footage of the incident shows the large bouncy castle taking off as stunned onlookers scream in horror Credit: X/@heinkaiser 5 The castle was sent flying into the air Credit: X/@heinkaiser 5 The bouncy castle later landed around 50 feet from where it took off Credit: X/@heinkaiser Brief footage of the incident shows the large bouncy castle taking off as stunned onlookers scream in horror. Instead of dropping back down to earth, the inflatable continues to spiral upwards over Laerskool Protearif primary at Krugersdorp. But the most heart-stopping moment comes when two kids fall out of the floating castle. Terrified parents scramble to break their fall as they drop from the inflatable, no longer able to cling on. While the onlookers managed to form a human crash mat, the two kids are still reported to have been seriously injured. One of the children is understood to have suffered a fractured skull, and the other a broken arm. The bouncy castle later landed around 50 feet from where it took off. It is not known if any other children were on board at the time of the incident. A statement on the school's Facebook page confirmed that two kids had been taken to hospital following the incident. The fundraising event was attended by more than 1,000 parents, pupils and friends last Saturday. The school's statement reads: "It is with great gratitude that we are happy to share the very good news with you. "The two children who sustained injuries during the fracture accident at the Protea festival on Saturday were discharged from hospital on 31/5 and 3/6 respectively. "The necessary trauma-counselling was given to both children, as well as to their co-learners, who experienced the event and thank you all for standing together. "We thank you very much for everyone's positive support, help and prayers." The school, which has 620 pupils aged 6 to 13, previously hit headlines in 2017 when a tornado blew off its roof and destroyed its buildings. An eyewitness of the bouncy castle takeoff said: "When they fell I thought they were dead. "I was watching from a food stall with my girls when I heard screaming and turned around and just saw this blue, green and red thing shooting up to the heavens. "Then there was a huge scream when first one child and then another fell out but of all the places they could have landed it was right over a group of parents below. "They reached up their arms to try to catch the falling children and undoubtedly saved their lives or saved them from much worse injuries by cushioning them. "It was not a very windy day but it seemed this huge gust just came from nowhere and it was said the bouncy castle had not been secured to the ground." It is unclear from the footage if the bouncy castle had been securely tethered ahead of the incident. Melissa Vere Russel of ABC Jumping Castles, which was not the company used, said: "In high gusts a bouncy castle can act like a parachute and the wind can carry it away. "All castles are manufactured with mechanisms to secure them to the ground and failing to anchor them properly could end in disaster and could be fatal." It comes after an Australian bouncy castle operator was found not guilty of failing to comply with safety laws after the tragic death of six children in Tasmania when strong winds blew an inflatable into the air. The horror incident happened in 2021 when a bouncy castle was blown three feet into the air and landed in a tree 160 feet away. Six children died and three others were seriously injured. But owner of operator Taz-Zorb Rosemary Gamble was cleared of breaching work safety laws after the tragedy was ruled to be "due to an unprecedented weather system that was impossible to predict and avoid". Angry parents reportedly shouted at the bouncy castle owner after the verdict. Gamble's lawyer read a statement on her behalf, saying: "I never meant for something like this to happen. And I am just so sorry that it did. "I am a mother. I can only imagine the pain that other parents are living with each and every day because of this terrible thing that happened. "Their loss is something I will carry with me for the rest of my life." 5 The fundraising event was attended by more than 1,000 parents, pupils and friends last Saturday Credit: X/@heinkaiser
