Woman dies after swing chair falls off funfair ride in France

Twenty-year-old also seriously injured after pair fall 15 metres from carousel

Still image from Télévision Loire 7 (TL7) video of the scene at a fun fair in Firminy, Loire, France, where a 24-year-old woman died after falling from the Sky Flyer swing chair ride on 14 October 2019. (Télévision Loire 7)

A woman has been killed and another seriously injured after their swing chair fell off a funfair ride in France.

The 24-year-old woman died after she was thrown about 15m from a suspended seat as it swung around a carousel in Firminy, Loire, Le Progrès reports.

Emergency services vehicles were called to the scene, but the woman was later pronounced dead.

A second woman, aged 20, was taken to hospital after also being badly injured in the incident on Monday night.

Marc Petit, mayor of Firminy, said she was in a critical condition on Tuesday, according to the regional newspaper.

Witnesses say there were strong winds on Monday which may have affected the ride at the at the Vogue des Noix funfair.

Local media report the seat in which the two women were sitting hit another carousel nearby. However, this has not been confirmed.

An investigation has been launched into the cause.

Four people, including the owners and operators of the affected rides, were taken into police custody following the incident, according to Le Progres.

Mr Petit is expected to speak at a meeting at the town hall in Firminy on Tuesday.

Last week, a woman was left with serious injuries after being flung from a ride at a fair in Hull.

It is believed she fell from the spinning Airmaxx360 attraction onto the base of a nearby ride, hitting a teenage boy on the ground in the process.

The boy escaped with minor injuries.