At least 23 people were injured when two gondolas of a Ferris wheel caught fire at a music festival near Leipzig in eastern Germany, the German news agency dpa reported Sunday (Aug. 18).
The accident took place at the Highfield Festival at Lake Strömthal near Leipzig.
The fire started in one gondola and then spread to a second one on Saturday night, local police said. The operator of the Ferris wheel told dpa that no passengers were sitting in the gondola in which the fire started.
Details in a statement from police in the state of Saxony said 65 people received medical care and 16 were transported to hospitals for further treatment, including four with burn injuries and one with an injury from a fall. None of the injured were in life-threatening condition on Saturday.
Police posted an update on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday regarding their investigation into the cause of the Ferris wheel fire.
“After the fire, investigators were deployed and an initial assessment was made. By means unknown, material underneath the Ferris wheel caught fire. As a result, the fire spread to a gondola. The investigation is still ongoing,” the statement said.
German rapper Ski Aggu was performing on the festival stage during the incident; in an Instagram Story, Aggu said he was dismayed and in shock.
His statement, translated from German to English, said he was told via his earpiece to continue his performance in an effort to avoid a mass panic situation in the crowd.