Tasmania Bans Jumping Castles Following School Tragedy
Community rallies behind families
In the aftermath of the Devonport jumping castle tragedy, which killed five students when an inflatable structure was hurled into the air, the Tasmanian Government are set to place a ban on the bouncy activity.
On Thursday, near-40 students gathered at Hillcrest Primary School as part of an end-of-year celebration.
The event turned into a tragedy, as the inflatable ride went airborne following a mammoth gust of wind.
In the accident, three boys and two girls passed away. Three more children remain in a critical condition in hospital.
Premier Peter Gutwein says the community has rallied behind each other in the face of such heartbreak.
"I was inspired by the way that people felt that the wanted to do something," Gutwein said.
"Everybody in the community that I've spoken is wanting to do whatever they can to help the families, to help the school community, to help the broader community get through this."
Police Commissioner Darren Hine say the incident was a freak accident which is currently being investigated.
"There's various accounts of how strong the wind, it's fair to say that the wind was quite strong. This will all form part of the investigation to try and get an estimation of the wind strength to see what occurred."
A GoFundMe page has raised over $1 million for the families affected by the devastating incident.
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