Two children killed after bouncy castle is swept into air by ‘dust devil’ in central China</s>Two children killed and scores injured as dust devil lifts jumping castle into air

Two children are dead after a freak jumping castle accident at a fair in China, with a dust devil flinging the inflatable structure around in the air before sending it crashing to the ground.

At least 22 people were also injured in the incident on Sunday afternoon (local time) at a pear orchard in Yucheng County, Henan province.

Video of the incident shows the dust devil approaching before the jumping castle is lifted up and spun around.

People can be seen bracing against the wind and ducking for cover as the wind hits and items are lifted off the ground.

One other child was left in a critical condition, according to a statement from the Shangqiu City Government.

"Twenty two people were injured, including two children who died after ineffective emergency treatment, and another child was severely injured and transferred to the intensive care unit," the statement read.

"The surgery for this child was completed successfully, while the [other] 19 people remain in a stable condition."

The dust devil struck when there were more than 400 people attending the fair, which is held every year when the local pear trees are in blossom.

Chines media reported the weather event only lasted a few minutes before it dissipated.

The children who died fell onto concrete according to the statement, while the others fell into tree branches and mud and escaped with less serious injuries.

Dust devils are small whirlwinds caused by hot air near the surface rising rapidly through cooler air above.

Reports of injury and fatalities are uncommon.</s>Two children have been killed and 20 other people injured after a bouncy castle was blown high into the sky in central China's Henan province.

A small whirlwind known as a dust devil tore the inflatable from the ground at a fairground in Yucheng county.

One parent reportedly told local media that she saw children fall from a height of about 20 metres (66ft).

A county government official told the South China Morning Post it was unclear whether "human factors" played a role.

Local authorities said 18 other children and two adults were taken to hospital. One child was in a serious condition while the rest were being treated for minor injuries.

The dust storm hit the fair at about 15:00 local time (07:00 GMT) on Sunday.

Footage shared on social media shows people running and stalls collapsing as the dust devil rips through the fairground, lifting the bouncy castle high into the sky.

The names of those killed and injured have not yet been released. There are reports the police have detained the bouncy castle's owner.

Dust devils are vertical whirlwinds that usually form in dry and sunny conditions.

While they are rarely dangerous, they can grow to more than 10 metres wide and hundreds of metres high.</s>As of Sunday night, two children were killed after a "dust devil" blew away an inflatable bouncer at a scenic spot in Yucheng County in China's central Henan Province.The incident happened at around 3:00 p.m. local time on Sunday, and also left 20 people injured including one child with serious injuries.A dust devil is a weather phenomenon that is formed on warm and sunny days and is visible due to the dust or hay that they pick up and swirl around. But it is not as intense as a tornado.According to Henan Provincial meteorological observatory, the dust devil from Sunday's incident was about 10 meters in diameter and lasted for around three to four minutes.</s>This is the moment a tornado-like dust devil lifts up a bouncy castle crowded with children off the ground and sends it flying before it overturns. Credit: Asiawire/Australscope

Horrifying footage shows the moment a jumping castle full of children is swept up into the sky during a terrifying dust storm in China.

A tornado-like “dust devil” sent the inflatable jumping castle flying into the air at a pear orchard festival in central China, killing two children and injuring at least 20 others about 3pm local time on Sunday.

The large inflatable twisted around in the freak weather event as people ran from the scene and cradled children on the ground as the devastating winds ripped around other stalls at the fair.

One onlooker is heard shouting, “There’s a child falling” while other clips show the inflatable travelling further along a dirt road and hurtling into stopped cars in Tianmiao Town, Henan province.

Among the others injured was a child whose condition was said to be serious.

Some victims were reportedly swept up in the vortex and dropped again, some of them falling into tree branches or mud.

A government official said the two children died at the scene, but he did not have further details about them.

“The nature of this accident is also not yet known, as it is still unclear whether … it was an incident partly caused by human factors,” they said.

The dust devil measured about 9m wide and lasted up to four minutes, causing damage to businesses at the scenic area.

More than 400 people attended the fair, held every year when the local pear trees blossom.

Dust devils are small whirlwinds caused by hot air near the surface rising rapidly through cooler air above.

They can occur on sunny days, often in deserts or dry riverbeds and can be more than 1km in height.

RELATED: Girl dies after jumping castle ‘explodes’ in the UK

In 2017 a six-year-old girl was killed and six others injured after a jumping castle broke loose outside a restaurant in northeastern Spain.

Last year a young girl died after being thrown from a jumping castle as it “exploded” in front of horrified families on a beach in the UK.

Also in China last year a seven-year-old boy was killed and several adults and children injured as wind gusts swept an inflatable into the sky and left them trapped underneath when it returned to the ground.</s>TWO children were killed after a tornado-like dust devil launched a bouncy castle into the air.

Horrifying footage shows the entire bouncy castle soaring through the air in the huge winds. Onlookers run in terror at the harrowing sight, as debris from the inflatable rains down on them. The freak weather phenomenon swept through the Ningling Wanmu Liyuan Scenic Area in Yucheng County in Central China’s Henan Province yesterday. Authorities have since confirmed two children died in the accident.

A further 20 people, including two adults and 18 children, were injured by the dust devil. The young victims of the tragedy were reportedly swept up by the vortex and then dropped again, after the bouncy castle overturned. Henan Province’s weather service said the dust devil measured 30ft wide and lasted up to four minutes. The names and ages of the two victims have yet to be released by the police, who have reportedly detained the owner of the bouncy castle.

The operator may face charges of negligence if found not to have properly secured the inflatable castle to the ground. It is not the first time bouncy castles have caused tragedy. In July 2018, a little girl died after being flung from an inflatable on a packed beach in Norfolk. And an eight-year-old was left seriously injured in 2017 when a bouncy castle they were on was launched into the air.</s>Two children have been killed as a huge tornado ripped through a park and tore a bouncy castle from the ground.

Terrifying footage shows the large inflatable being thrown around in the phenomena known as a 'dust devil' as people run for cover.

Eyewitnesses say they saw two children fall from the bouncy castle, but it is unclear if these were the children who died.

They describe youngsters bleeding from their heads and crying as screaming parents raced around to find their loved ones.

At least 16 other children and two adults suffered injuries, some of which are serious, as the wind got under the play equipment and launched it through the air.

The incident happened on Sunday at the Ten Thousand Acre Park in Zhengzhou, China when a local market was in progress.

All 20 people were taken to hospital, with two youngsters, whose ages have not been revealed, dying later of their injuries while in intensive care.

An unnamed woman told the Beijing Times: "In the afternoon today at about 3pm a gust of sand suddenly blew upward in front of us, way up high.

"The next thing that we saw was the bounce house where the kids were playing get lifted up into the air.

"The bounce house was thrown about 150 meters away. I saw two kids fall from the house."

She added: "That whole place was a mess, there were kids screaming and crying. Some places that weren’t too far from me had kids lying on the ground, and parents were madly searching for their kids.”

A second woman added: "I saw two children up in the sky, about 20 to 30 meters up, and then they fell to the ground.

“Everything was crazy. Other than the bounce house, there were other people in the area trying to do business, and all of their stuff was tossed everywhere.

"The scene was total chaos. Parents were looking for their kids, the kids were crying loudly.”

Another witness, Ms Cao, said her four-year-old child was inside the bouncy castle at the time.

She told the Beijing News: "Our kid was off school today so we went to have some fun.

"When we were on our way back, we saw some kids on the road who were bleeding from their head. Parents were carrying their kids running out of there.”</s>Two children were killed after a dust tornado sent a bouncy castle flying into the air in central China, officials said today.

Horrifying footage shows the large inflatable bounce house twisting around the tornado as people ran away at a busy fairground in Yucheng county, Henan province on Sunday afternoon.

In addition to the two fatalities, one child was seriously wounded while 17 others sustained minor injuries, according to the Yucheng county government. Two adults were also slightly injured.

The video published on Chinese social media also shows adults holding their children in their arms tightly as coloured tents and food stalls were blown away by the tornado.

A parent, surnamed Li, who was with her child at the scene told Beijing News that she saw at least two children falling from a height of at least 20 metres (66 feet) after being lifted into the air during the terrifying accident.

'All the parents were frantically looking for their kids. The children were crying,' she told reporters.

A parent, surnamed Li, who was with her child at the scene said that she saw at least two children falling from a height of at least 20 metres (66 feet) after being lifted into the air

The child who was seriously wounded has underwent surgery in hospital and is currently in stable condition, the statement released by the Yucheng county government added. The rest of the wounded have also received treatment.

According to Henan Provincial meteorological observatory, the dust tornado from Sunday's incident was about 10 meters (32.8 feet) in diameter and lasted for around three to four minutes.

Last February, three children were injured after a bouncy castle was also blown upside down by a strong gust of wind in Guizhou province, south-west China.

Some children rolled onto the public square and were unharmed, while the three injured children are thought to have fallen from a height of at least 30 feet during the terrifying ordeal.</s>BEIJING, April 1 — A dust tornado sent an inflatable bounce house flying into the air in central China, killing two children and injuring 18 others, officials said today.

The large bouncy castle twisted around the tornado at a fairground as people ran away, some holding children in their arms during yesterday’s incident in Tianmiao Town, Henan province, according to images posted on Twitter by state broadcaster CGTN.

In addition to the two fatalities, one child was seriously injured while 17 others were slightly hurt, according to the Shang Qiu city government. Two adults were also slightly injured. — AFP</s>An inflatable playhouse filled with children was launched nearly 100 feet into the air by a dust devil in China. Two children are dead and another 20 people are injured. The incident took place in the Henan province at about 3 PM on Sunday afternoon.

According to reports, the dust devil had a 32 foot diameter and lasted for just three to four minutes. Horrifying video shows the chaotic scene unfold as bystanders scramble for cover...

A dust devil is a strong, well-formed, and relatively long-lived whirlwind, ranging from small (half a meter wide and a few meters tall) to large (more than 10 meters wide and more than 1000 meters tall). They are usually harmless, but can on rare occasions grow large enough to pose a threat to both people and property.

They are comparable to tornadoes in that both are a weather phenomenon of a vertically oriented rotating column of air, but that's where it ends. Tornadoes are associated with a larger parent circulation, the mesocyclone on the back of a supercell thunderstorm. Dust devils form as a swirling updraft under sunny conditions during fair weather, rarely coming close to the intensity of a tornado.
Two children are killed and twenty are injured in China after a dust devil lifts an inflatable castle off the ground.