Oberhausen – Tragic accident at the fair: When collecting driving chips, the son (18) of a showman fell and was fatally injured!
The Corpus Christi fair ended prematurely.
︎ The terrible accident happened around 7.20 p.m. on the “Breakdance”. The employee’s injuries were so serious that he died on the spot, said fair spokesman Rainer Suhr (57) in the evening. According to witnesses, the young man was hit by a gondola and thrown off the platform.
Two children sat in the gondola
There were two children in the gondola. Emergency chaplains took care of them. Other helpers looked after eyewitnesses and relatives of the victim. According to unconfirmed information, one of them had to be hospitalized in shock. A total of 20 people affected were cared for by ten pastors.
The criminal police took up the investigation.
Showman colleagues and employees of a security service had previously cordoned off the scene of the accident and set up a temporary privacy screen with parasols. The terrible news spread among the showmen via an internal group. Most immediately turned off the music and lights, stopped the rides. So the fair ended early.
“Tragic end of a happy fair day”
Head of the Order Department Michael Jehn explained: “Our thoughts are with the family of the young man for whom a happy day at the fair came to such an incredibly tragic end. You have our deepest sympathy.”
Whether the fair starts again should be decided on Monday morning. On the traditionally last day of the fair, fireworks usually end the big event in the Sterkrade district in the evening.