Terrifying moment fairground ride crashes 50ft to the ground in India, leaving 15 people injured

This is the moment a fairground ride crashes after falling nearly 50 feet to fling thrill-seekers from their seats at a fair in northern India’s Punjab.

Carnival managements staff and fairground bouncers fled the scene after the impact, local media reported, with police opening up an investigation into what caused the accident in Phase-8 of the Mohali district on September 4.

Footage showed the spinning drop tower loosing speed before plummeting down instead of slowing.

The impact throws fairground goers from their seats as it collides with the platform.

Onlookers can be heard screaming next to the ride, watching as their loved ones fall drop straight down without stopping.

Between 15-16 people have been injured in the accident, including children, with five admitted to a nearby hospital.

A high rise fairground ride fell nearly 50 feet at a fair in northern India’s Punjab, injuring at least 15 people

Footage showed the spinning drop tower loosing speed before it plummets to earth instead of slowing. Onlookers can be heard screaming next to the ride as it crashes into the platform

‘A carnival was being organised and the eyewitness told us that there was a technical snag in the swing and it had fallen,’ Deputy superintendent of police Harsimran Singh Bal told the Indian Express.

Three men and two women were admitted at the Phase-6 Civil Hospital for head and neck injuries after the fall.

The Mohali Trade Fair, which has now been shut down, was to continue till September 11 this year.

Mohali Deputy Commissioner Amit Talwar said authorities are holding an inquiry into whether the organisers had permission to hold the carnival.

He said the joyride was owned by Jaipur-based Mukesh Sharma.

Operators often move their attractions from town-to-town, with local fairs springing up across the region.

Sunny Singh, one of the organisers of the festival, told the Hindustan Times they had operated the ride many times before but ‘this has never happened’.

He said he intends to cooperate with the police. 

An injured girl is pictured in the aftermath of the accident. Between 15-16 people have been injured in the crash, including children, with five admitted to hospital

Family members and friends rushed to help victims of the fall in the aftermath of the incident. Carnival managements staff and fairground bouncers fled the scene after the impact, local media said