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A funfair has apologised to families who were flown off a carnival ride when it suddenly crashed in Edinburgh.
A dad-of-three said his kids are ‘very lucky’ to have walked out of the Waltzers funfair ride after it appeared to malfunction at the Galactic Carnival Festival in Wester Hailes, Edinburgh, on Saturday evening.
Kevin McNulty said he was on the ride with his three children and partner when the ‘unthinkable happened’ as the cars came off.
Now the Galactic Carnival organisers have apologised to all the families ‘who had to go through this experience, and will be working tirelessly to assist in the ongoing investigation.’
First aid attended ‘immediately’ and it was offered to those involved, and ‘no ambulance was required,’ the organisers said.
The event has been closed while third-party inspectors and the Health and Safety Executive carry out a probe.
Galactic Carnival said: ‘We are truly sorry for the distress caused by the incident at our event. Public safety at our events has always been, and continues to be, our top priority.
‘All rides at our events undergo extensive safety testing in line with government guidelines, including daily safety checks, and are also inspected by an independent third party safety inspection body (ADIPS).
‘Once again we are truly sorry for the distress this has caused.’
People with tickets will get an automatic refund through Skiddle, Galactic said.
The car came ‘completely off’ when the ride was going at ‘full pelt’ as the kids were enjoying the day out in one car and Kevin and his partner rode in another behind them.
On footage captured by the dad-of-three, fairgoers can be first heard laughing and whooping in excitement as the ride spins around.
However, the sounds turn into terrified screams when some of the cars crash off the spinning platform and onto the side.
A panicked child can be heard yelling ‘oh my God, oh my God,’ with crying in the background.
Kevin wrote on social media how the ‘car came completely off and then went flying into our car and then smashed about the place crashing into the side off the track.’
He said hurtling cars were ‘thankfully’ blocked by heavy large speaker ‘that they collided with or they would have been through the whole thing and then the ending would have been a completely different story.’
Kevin said he ‘can’t stop thinking about’ what could have happened if the equipment had not been there.
Pictures he took appear to show parts of the ride on the floor near the track in the immediate aftermath of the accident.
Kevin said his children are ‘very lucky that they managed to get out of this still walking.’
Other rides then continued, but the Waltzers was stopped, he said.
However, he said he thinks the fair ‘should have been shut down for a full inspection.’
We approached Galactic Carnival Edinburgh for a comment.
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