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WARNING: The following video may be disturbing to some readers. Discretion is advised.
Airborne jumping castles can be lethal. Picture: Supplied.
Two young children sustained serious injuries last weekend when a jumping castle was swept into the air during a school festival in Krugersdorp.
The inflatable structure, allegedly unsecured, was lifted by a gust of wind while two junior jumpers were still inside. Both children fell from the airborne castle as it tumbled above the school grounds.
The incident occurred at Protearif Laerskool’s Protea Fees (festival), an event hosted on the school premises.
A video of the accident, sent to The Citizen by a concerned attendee, shows the inflatable rising rapidly before the children are flung from it.
“I looked at the video again and again,” said the bystander. “While I saw that other inflatable structures were secured, it did not look as if the jumping castle was tied to the ground in any way.”
It was unclear from the footage whether any ropes, tethers or anchoring mechanisms had snapped, or if the castle had been unsecured from the outset.
The castle reportedly reached a height of two to three storeys before the children fell.
WARNING: The following video may be disturbing to some readers. Discretion is advised.
Watch" Two children were seriously injured at a Protearif Laerskool event in Krugersdorp when they fell from an allegedly unsecured jumping castle that became airborne. @TheCitizen_News pic.twitter.com/sviLG3adk8
— Hein Kaiser (@heinkaiser) June 5, 2025
Children injured in fall
Melissa Vere Russel of ABC Jumping Castles explained that any inflatable structure with a roof or enclosed area must be properly anchored.
“It can behave like a parachute,” she said. “A wind can simply pick it up and carry it away.”
She added that all jumping castles are manufactured with mechanisms to secure them to the ground, and failing to use them can be fatal.
According to sources at the event, one child sustained a skull fracture and the other a broken arm. The injuries were not officially confirmed at the time of publication.
No comment from the principal
Protearif Laerskool principal Donna Lourens did not respond to questions regarding the incident. His assistant, Lauren van der Merwe, said the matter has been referred to the Department of Education and is currently under investigation. Any update from the department will be included once received.
This is not the first time an inflatable attraction ended in tragedy.
In 2021, six children were killed and one seriously injured in Devonport, Tasmania, when a jumping castle was swept into the air by a dust devil whirlwind.
An investigation later found the inflatable had not been properly secured.
This is a developing story
