A fire has broken out in a Ferris wheel at a major music festival in Germany, injuring “more than 30 people.”
The fairground attraction caught fire tonight around 9pm (CET) at the Highfield Festival in Leipzig, which attracts 30,000 visitors annually.
According to eyewitnesses, there were still passengers on the Ferris wheel when it went up in flames.
Police spokesperson Josephin Sader told the German news agency BILD: ‘The fire broke out in a gondola for an unknown reason and then spread to a second gondola.
“There are more than 30 injured, most of them slightly injured – including four police officers. Two people were seriously injured. There were no fatalities.”
German rapper Ski Aggu was on stage at the time of the incident.
He saw black smoke coming from one of the upper cars and commented on it, then stopped his show altogether.
Burning carriage on the Ferris wheel at the Highfield Festival in Leipzig
Black smoke rises from one of the upper carriages as festival-goers look on
More than 30 people were injured in the fire and are being treated in hospital
The cause of the fire is still unknown.
With dozens of firefighters on site, the fire has been extinguished and the festival can resume.
“The show must go on,” a festival organizer announced around 10pm CET.
The Highfield Festival is celebrating its 15th anniversary and will feature 54 artists and bands performing this weekend, including American rapper Macklemore, known for the song Thrift Shop.
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