A 27-year-old woman died on Saturday evening at the Blois funfair, after being thrown from a ride.
A 27-year-old woman died on Saturday April 20 in the evening after being thrown from a fairground ride in Blois. The fairground person responsible for the ride was questioned by the police this Sunday.
· A 27-year-old victim
around 11 p.m. this Saturday, a 27-year-old woman was ejected from an attraction at the Blois funfair with an American football league theme. This consists of a turntable to which nacelles are attached which pivot on themselves and can each accommodate two or three people.
Originally from Blois, the young woman was evacuated to the city hospital. She “did not survive her injuries”, the town hall said in a press release, adding that “a legal investigation is underway”.
According to the regional daily The New Republic, the ride in question was installed for the first time in the city. “The funfair opened its doors on March 30 and was due to end this Sunday, April 21. It will not reopen its doors today following the dramatic circumstances,” writes the municipality, which “joins the pain of loved ones of the victim”.
· The manager of the ride in police custody, a complaint filed
The owner and manager of the ride was taken into custody on Saturday evening shortly after the accident, and “his custody has just been extended this evening”, Blois prosecutor Charlotte Beluet told AFP on Sunday. .
“The investigations are continuing. The ride has been placed under seal for expertise. Several witnesses have been heard and a video from a third party is being analyzed,” continued the magistrate.
According to the information collected so far, the victim was seated normally “with the intended protection device”, a type of barrier to contain the passengers. It is a question of understanding what happened with this device, why it did not protect the victim, she added.
The young woman’s family “filed a complaint against X for involuntary manslaughter”, the prosecutor also indicated, confirming information from the New Republic.
· The city assures that the ride was controlled
The city specifies that it is particularly vigilant in controlling this funfair. “Each year, the City mandates, at its own expense and without being obliged to do so, an external firm, approved by the Ministry of the Interior, to verify the conformity of the installations, in addition to the regulatory controls in force. A global certificate and a certificate per ride were issued,” she underlines.
“This ride had been the subject, like all the others, of administrative checks”, insists on BFMTV the chief of staff of the town hall of Blois, Jonathan Dogan.
· Deadly accidents in recent years
Several people have died in recent years in accidents at fairgrounds or amusement parks. Last August, a 17-year-old teenager was killed and a 19-year-old woman seriously injured on a ride in an amusement park in Cap d’Agde.
A few months earlier, at the end of June, a 16-year-old teenager died in Saintes (Charente-Maritime) after being ejected from a caterpillar-type attraction while it was gaining speed.
In February 2023, a 22-year-old student died after falling from a thrill ride at the Clermont-Ferrand funfair.