Seoul, South Korea – Five family members fell 65 feet to their deaths from a Ferris wheel Monday after the car they were riding in unexpectedly overturned at an amusement park, police said.
Two members of the family in the car clung to handholds and survived without injury, police officer Yoon Jae-Man said.
Jeon Un-Sung, 70, one of those rescued from the car in the southern city of Busan, said “the slowly moving gondola suddenly stopped and turned upside down and family members fell in a flash” when the window behind the seats fell out, according to Yonhap news agency.
Among the dead at the scene were a 68-year-old woman, a 7-year-old boy and two others, police said. A 28-year-old woman who was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment died later.
The 216-foot-high “Giant Wheel” ride has 42 cars. It was among about 30 rides at the World Carnival mobile amusement park that opened in Busan last month for a 40-day run after arriving from Hong Kong, Yonhap reported.
Police were investigating. The amusement park did not answer repeated calls.
