A nine-year-old boy sustained critical injuries after an inflatable zorb ball he was in was lifted into the air during a sudden gust of wind at Victoria Park in Southport, Merseyside. The incident occurred at around 2pm on Sunday in the course of the Southport Food and Drink Festival. The boy was taken to the hospital by air ambulance and remains there for therapy. Another zorb ball containing a toddler was additionally lifted into the air, however the baby was unharmed. Printable are investigating the cause for the incident.
A witness close to the inflatable pool described the scene to Sky News: “There was an enormous gust of wind out of nowhere, causing people’s umbrellas, drinks and plates to fly about, then the wind ramped up in a cut up second. One youngster was blown out of the pool and the second simply flew up in the air at approximately 100ft (30m) after which landed heavy – we didn’t see him land, but we saw him fly up.” They added that the incident was “very very scary” and left onlookers “quite shook up.”