At least 30 injured in fire on ferris wheel at German music festival

At least 30 people have been injured after a Ferris wheel caught fire at a German rock music festival yesterday (August 17).

The incident occurred at the Highfield Festival at Störmthaler Lake, close to the city of Leipzig, last night at around 9:13pm.

Two people are being treated for serious injuries, The German Red Cross told German publication Bild. First responders, including police officers, are among the 30 injured.

The fire broke out on one gondola before spreading to a second, according to Leipziger Zeitung, a local online newspaper. It is not yet clear what caused the fire.

Footage of the Ferris wheel continuing to spin despite the fire has circulated on Twitter/X. Firefighters on the scene tipped the two gondolas upside down to prevent the fire from spreading further.

Aktuell brennt ein Wagon vom Riesenrad auf dem #highfield Festival! Am besten nicht mehr Richtung Gelände laufen pic.twitter.com/3jh9pGaUhG

— mueckenmoerder (@mueckenmoerder) August 17, 2024

UPDATE: The fire is still burning on a ferris wheel at the Highfield Festival in Leipzig, Germany – which attracts 30,000 people every year. There were still passengers onboard the ferris wheel as it went up in flames.#BREAKING #Germany pic.twitter.com/gRmw2AzWEt

— Target Reporter (@Target_Reporter) August 17, 2024

German rapper Ski Aggu cut his set short after the blaze broke out. Writing on his Instagram story, he said: “I am absolutely dismayed and shocked by the Ferris wheel fire during my show at Highfield. I was just told that I should not cancel the show under any circumstances, but should first stay in dialogue with you so that mass panic does not arise.”

He continued: “Thank you all for staying so calm and thereby preventing anything worse from happening.”

At around 10pm, festival organisers said they had closed the Ferris wheel and restarted performances on stage despite the fire earlier in the evening.

Highfield is the largest independent rock festival in eastern Germany, attracting 30,000 visitors every year.

The festival will resume tonight (August 18).

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