Two children were killed and 20 injured on March 31 when a whirlwind hit a carnival in China, lifting an inflatable castle into the air and flinging children out as the popular attraction spiraled hundreds of meters off the ground.
At about 3 pm, the carnival at Tianmiaoxiang was decimated when by a strong wind which generated the whirlwind. An inflatable castle was lifted off the ground while children were inside, with the horrifying sight caught on video.
Witnesses can be heard screaming and crying “children are falling.”
A person who saw the disaster said dust rose up out of nowhere and before anyone could react, the inflatable castle was carried hundreds of meters off the ground.
Local authorities reported that two children were killed, with one child in critical condition and 17 other children and two adults suffering from minor injuries.
Whirlwinds can be strong and powerful and can be as tall as 100 meters. While they are usually harmless, they can sometimes be large and strong enough to damage property and injure people. They are formed when a pocket of hot air rises quickly through cooler air above it and it forms a rotating updraft.
