Girl, 6, dead and two children critical in bouncy castle accident

Although police say there was little wind at the time, the blow-up attraction was swept 40 metres (130 feet) across the grounds of the Ca l'Oller eatery in Caldes de Malavella (Girona province) at around 15.45 yesterday (Sunday).

The children were flung between 10 and 20 metres (33 to 65 feet) and hit the ground hard.

Four suffered minor injuries and three were rushed to hospital.

A nine-year-old boy was air-lifted to Parc Taulí hospital in Sabadell (Barcelona province) and a girl aged seven was taken by ambulance to Girona's Josep Trueta hospital.

Another girl, aged six, was flown to Barcelona's Vall d'Hebrón hospital, but died later last night due to the severity of her injuries.

A seven-year-old girl who was badly injured, but not critical, and three others with minor wounds were also taken to the Josep Trueta.

Witnesses say they heard a loud bang a split second before the bouncy castle uprooted with the seven children aged between three and 11 on it, and police are investigating whether an explosion caused the tragedy or whether the attraction was not anchored down properly.

Owner of the Ca l'Oller – a restaurant popular with families with small children – said the bouncy castle was new and had been set up for the first time in mid-March.

Consumer group OCU says blow-up castles should not be installed or in use when winds of just 38 kilometres per hour were forecast, although at the time of the accident there was barely a breeze in the area.

Regional president Carles Puigdemont tweeted that he had just spoken to the mayor of Caldes de Malavella and sent his 'strong desire' that the injured children recovered quickly.

This was at 17.30, when the only fatal victim so far was still fighting for her life.

Photograph by the Catalunya regional news agency ACN