According to Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Australians are grieving a “horrific” national tragedy after five children were murdered in a bouncy castle accident.
After a breeze pushed the castle skywards during a Tasmania school fair on Thursday, the youngsters plummeted roughly 10m (32ft).
Addison Stewart, 11, and Zane Mellor, Jye Sheehan, Jalailah Jayne-Maree Jones, and Peter Dodt, all 12, were the victims, according to police.
On Friday, three more youngsters were still in serious condition.
Another youngster who was hurt has been released from the hospital.
The victims’ parents did not want to speak publicly, according to police, but other relatives have paid respect to them online.
Tamara Scott, Peter Dodt’s aunt, stated that the young kid “was full of life and experiences.”
Meg Aherne, Addison Stewart’s aunt, said: “At this point, I’m not sure what to write. She was always such a wonderful, gentle, elderly soul, and everyone is saddened.”
Zane Mellor was hailed as a “lovely child” and a “wonderful, compassionate, sensitive spirit” by a family acquaintance.
“As a father, there are no words,” Mr Morrison added, describing the incident as a “awful tragedy.”
Devonport, a community of little than 30,000 people, has been broken by the disaster at Hillcrest Primary School.
Mr Morrison stated that “few, if any, individuals in Devonport would not have had a link to one of those families, to that school.”
On a largely quiet and sunny day, it’s still unclear how the incident occurred.
On Thursday morning, Australia’s meteorological agency reported wind gusts ranging from 7km/h (4mph) to 22km/h (average).
The bouncy castle was claimed to be anchored to the ground, according to police.
Tasmania Police Commissioner Darren Hine stated, “We all have a lot of questions.”
A total of 40 children from grades five and six participated in the school’s fun day.
Before paramedics came, teachers and other adults raced to give first assistance, according to authorities. Other students in the area were escorted away.
“What should have been a celebration of the end of the school year for our young children turned into a terrible tragedy,” Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein remarked.
$600,000AUD (£323,000; $430,000) has already been donated for the families through an online fundraising.
Other bouncy castle-related deaths have occurred. In a similar tragedy in China in 2019, two children were killed and 20 more were wounded.
A girl died in the UK a year ago after being tossed from a bouncy castle that burst on a Norfolk beach, according to eyewitnesses.
In March 2016, two fairground employees were sentenced to prison for manslaughter by gross negligence when a bouncy castle blew apart in Essex, killing seven-year-old Summer Grant.
