8-Year-Old Malaysian Girl Killed In Tragic Accident At Royal Adelaide Show

The Royal Adelaide Show is South Australia's biggest annual event run by the Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society of South Australia. Experiences run the whole gamut from carnival rides, exhibitions and attractions to exquisite handicraft, cookery and wide variety of champion livestock and animals.

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Its 12 carriages are at the end of arms that radiate from a central pivot, hurling patrons around and up and down at the same time.

The ride had a height limit understood to be 140cm, but no weight or age restriction.

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Witness Malinda Dunwoodie, 17, was considering going on the Airmaxx 360 when she saw the tragedy unfold. She said the safety harness was still down but it looked as if the girl had slipped out of her seat. “She was hanging by her legs off the ride, trying to block herself. She went flying through the air about 10-15m up in the air and I started sprinting towards her,” Ms Dunwoodie said. “I was shaking so much, she looked like a doll flying through the air.

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Brandon Taylor, 16, was one of the first witnesses on the scene. “We just saw someone lying on the ground,” he said. “She looked like she was in a pretty critical condition. I don’t want to go on that ride now.”

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Shocked witnesses said the girl was covered in blood when she was taken from the scene. "She didn't look too good," Oakden girl Emily Furno, 13, told AAP. "Everyone who saw the accident was in shock."

An unnamed witness said: 'I was looking back and I could see someone lying on the ground and people with towels. It happened so quickly. One second it was fine and the next it was not.'

Police were seen gathered around a brightly coloured ride called 'Air Maxx 360' at the show, after the accident at around 12.30 on Friday.

Ambulance crews treated the girl at the scene before rushing her to the Women's and Children's Hospital, but she died a short time later.

“Our thoughts are definitely with the family at this time. We have a current investigation going on for the Coroner, we are working with SafeWork SA with support from the Royal Show Society,” said Chief Inspector Dennis Lock. “I would like to thank all the emergency services people, Royal Show assistants and the numerous members of the public that quickly came to the aid of the girl.”

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SafeWork SA executive director Bryan Russell said the investigation into the death had already started. “The investigation is expected to take some time given the nature of the incident, number of witnesses involved and technical expertise required,” Russell said.

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“All rides at the show must pass a national compliance audit prior to the show opening and undergo daily checks by the operators,” he (John Rothwell) said. He said he had not yet made contact with the family of the girl because it was too early but would do so in due course.

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Brian Russell, from Safework SA, said no complaints about the ride had been made before today.
He said the investigation would look into whether ride operators complied with safety and legal obligations, but no compliance breaches were detected when the ride was inspected before the Show.

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South Australia's work health and safety agency, SafeWork SA, said the ride - which was operating for the first time at the show - would be shut for the rest of the event as they investigate the incident with police.

Watson, who took the ride on Thursday with her daughter said an attendant securing restraints on all riders appeared to be in a bad mood. “We were the last ones to be locked in and the girl said, ‘I’m effing over this; I’ve had enough of it’,” she told the Sunday Mail. “I kind of took it she was over today - but it was only about 11am,” Watson added. She said that just moments after the ride started, the operator stopped it and pointed out a particular seat to the attendant. “It turns out she hadn’t clipped the seat down properly on it,” Watson said. “She cracked it at him. She wasn’t happy he’d stopped the ride,” she added.

Brock Koster, 21, of Riverton, in the Mid North, travelled to Adelaide for the Show with his girlfriend last Saturday and said the Airmaxx 360 was not functioning properly. “Halfway through our ride it kept stopping and starting,” Mr Koster said. “It would slow right down and then it would start again, but eventually it stopped altogether.” He said riders at the time were asked to exit and were given their tickets for later use. “As we were getting off, the floor started collapsing beneath us and we nearly fell off,” Mr Koster said.

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He said the ride was closed as maintenance staff worked on it, including on one of the 12 octopus-like arms. When he returned to use their free tickets, the ride still didn’t seem to be working. “It wasn’t doing the full movements – it was still being weird,” Mr Koster said. He said his girlfriend told him she was not strapped in properly. “She felt like she was going to fly out, so I was trying to hold on to her . . . she just didn’t feel secure,” he said.

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Among those paying their respects earlier today were the Redman family from Mile End, who brought lilies from their garden in memory of the girl. “We weren’t sure if we would come here today, it felt a bit inappropriate because of what happened yesterday,” Claire Redman said. “But we had already promised our kids, so we tried to think of something we could do to acknowledge what had happened.”

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Shawni Gregory, 21, of Munno Para West, and her best friend Katharina Ritson, of Smithfield, 23, were working at the show yesterday when they were told of the tragedy. “We’ve been up all night thinking about it, we couldn’t sleep,” Ms Gregory said. “We didn’t want to come to work today.”
The pair picked up flowers on their way to work and delivered them to the memorial.

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