Ferris wheel catches fire at Leipzig music festival – DW – 08/18/2024

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. 

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 cause of the fire was initially unclear.

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. 

The Highfield Festival describes itself as an Indie-Rock music festival and was set to close this Sunday. It was held in the Grosspösna outer suburb of Leipzig.

Organizers said that around 30,000 people attended the event.

sdi/msh (dpa, AFP)