A video has emerged showing the moments before two friends fell from a Ferris wheel at a Christchurch music festival, leaving one man with a brain bleed.
The two men were seriously injured after falling from the ride at the Rolling Meadows festival at Bottle Lake, just hours after the New Year began.
One of the men, who the Herald has agreed not to name, said he fell more than 15m after the safety bar on the ride came loose. He struck his head on part of the Ferris wheel before landing on the ground below.
He sustained a brain bleed and spent five days in hospital recovering.
Just before 2am, after the queue for the Ferris wheel had eased, the man boarded the ride with two friends.
Event Hire operates the wheel and its director Phil Anderson said all riders were assessed before boarding to ensure they were safe and fit to ride.
“Consistent with our safety procedures, patrons were assessed prior to boarding to ensure they were safe and fit to ride, and this process was in place throughout the evening, including prior to the incident,” Anderson said.
A video filmed moments before the incident shows the friends’ cart swinging and then cuts off as the group begins to fall.
“I didn’t think anything was going on or think anything of it until it actually unclipped,” one of the men who fell said.
“That was when I realised, ‘Oh, oh, s***, I’m in a lot of trouble here’.
“I don’t know if it was another seat or just a bar or something that I hit my head on. I got knocked out, then I fell all the way to the ground and was unresponsive underneath.”
One of his friends fell from the cart and struck the ride’s bracing but managed to catch himself.
“He was covered in bruises, head to toe in bruises,” the man said.
A third friend avoided falling after managing to grab hold of the seat.
“He wasn’t leaning forward on the safety bar, so he had enough time to turn around and grab on.
“He was just hanging off the seat – he was pretty traumatised.”
The man said although festival staff were present to encourage responsible drinking, there were no checks before he and his friends boarded the ride, and no indication it was the final ride of the night.
“We were kind of surprised they were still open and the lady in the line just said, ‘We’ll stay open as long as you keep lining up’,” he said.
“They said they were checking for alcohol and stuff. We never got checked for anything like that. We could have been really drunk and still got on.”
He also disputed claims by staff the group had been told to stop swinging.
“A few of my friends who were in the line never heard anyone telling us to stop,” he said.
“We weren’t actually swinging that much. The bar came undone, that’s why we fell.”
Footage has also emerged of a person standing on a bar of another ride, this is not one of the people who fell.
Event Hire said an independent health and safety adviser from Rolling Meadows conducted a site audit of the Ferris wheel about 11.30pm on New Year’s Eve.
The adviser had provided a positive assessment of the event operations, staff competency, safety procedures and rider management at that time.
“The independent safety adviser confirmed that safety rules were clearly displayed, ride supervision standards were appropriate and operating procedures were being followed,” Anderson said.
“This is fully documented and our procedures did not change.”
Anderson said the safety of riders and the public is an “absolute priority”.
“Our rides operate under clearly displayed safety rules and are overseen by trained staff, including measures to ensure patrons are fit to participate,” he said.
“We have been in regular contact with St John to inquire about the men’s wellbeing and our thoughts remain with them and their families.”
In a statement, Event Hire said that during the ride, the operator observed passengers in one of the buckets rocking it.
“This is unsafe behaviour and he immediately instructed the riders to stop, as did other passengers on the ride,” the statement read.
“Clearly displayed signage warns passengers not to rock the seat.
“The operator then commenced the standard procedure to bring the ride to a halt and safely unload all passengers.
“As this process was underway, the affected gondola tipped, due to the rocking, and its occupants fell.
“Qualified medical personnel were already on site and responded immediately.
“The individuals received prompt treatment before two men were transported to hospital for further assessment.”
The statement also said Event Hire had notified WorkSafe and engaged an independent engineer to undertake a full technical review of the equipment.
Rolling Meadows took place from December 29 to 31.