Freak Gust of Wind' Fatally Carries Off a 7-Year-Old Girl in an Inflatable Bouncy Castle During Easter Festivities

A 7-year-old British girl died Saturday during an Easter celebration after a violent gust of wind carried away the inflatable bouncy castle inside which she had been playing and swept it away more than 500 feet downhill.

Summer Grant of Norwich had been partaking in an Easter celebration at the Harlow Town Park near London when bursts of strong winds began to arise. Onlookers watched in sheer horror as the Toy Story-themed inflatable castle was ripped from its moorings by a 25 mph gust of wind with Summer trapped alone inside it, according to the New York Daily News. The castle sailed above rows of trailers and caravans as it careened more than 500 feet from its original starting point and crashed to the ground.

"It was a freak gust of wind that caught everyone unawares," said Ray Smith, a representative of the Showman’s Guild of Great Britain, according to Sky News. "It actually pulled the safety stakes out of the ground."

Summer was rushed to the Princess Alexandra Hospital where she later died, Sky News reported. Following her death, the Essex Police arrested a 27-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman on suspicion of manslaughter by gross negligence.

"Everyone here is absolutely devastated, in fact everyone in the fairground industry is shattered by this," Smith told Sky News. "It's so appalling that this little girl came to have a lovely day out with her family and lost her life."

This tragedy is the second inflatable mishap that Harlow Town Park has experienced. Just last year, three children who were playing in a bouncy castle required medical attention after the castle suddenly collapsed, according to Fox News.

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