13-year-old thrown from ride in Pangasinan, loses lung

A 13-year-old boy lost his lung after falling from an amusement ride in Urdaneta, Pangasinan.

“Nahilo yung anak ko, nawalan ng malay. Eh, tuloy-tuloy daw ‘yung pag-ikot ng [swing],”the mother of the victim said in Dano Tingcungco’s “24 Oras” report on Wednesday.

(My son got dizzy, lost consciousness. The swing continued to operate.)

“Sumisigaw daw ‘yung pinsan ng anak ko na itigil kasi may nahimatay, hindi nakikinig ‘yung operator,” she said.

(The cousin of my son was asking the operator to stop because my son passed out. But the operator did not listen.)

The family of the victim blamed the ride’s broken harness lock for the incident.

However, the operator of the amusement ride said that the parts of the ride were complete and were not broken.

“Bago po sila sumakay dyan pinagsasabihan naman sila ng mga bantay, kaya po siguro ganoon nahihilo lang,” Santi Estreller, operator of ferriswing, said.

(Before they boarded there, the guards were advising them. Maybe he got dizzy from the ride.)

The owner of the carnival said that they will help the victim and his family.

The police, however, will continue its investigation on the incident.

Meanwhile, three persons, including a child, were injured after falling from an amusement ride at a carnival in Masinloc, Zambales.

The management of the carnival said it is ready to shoulder the costs of treatment on the victims.

Based on the investigation, a screw of the ride became loose that caused it to derail.

An occupational safety and health officer advised the public to check if the carnivals have permits to operate and make sure that rides have safety gears.

“Tignan natin kung okay ba may safety gear ba yung mga rides natin baka mamaya eh, icheck natin pagsumakay tayo. Gumagana ba yung mga safety gear natin? Bago pa lang paandarin yung ating mga sasakyang rides icheck natin may safety gear ba ito,” Francis Santos, occupational safety and health officer, said.

(Let's check if our rides have safety gears. Before riding, let's check if it has safety gears.)

He said the operators must study and know the possible risk and danger of the rides before opening it to the public.

The carnivals must also have a safety officer and trained first aid responder on standby, as well as having regular preventive maintenance of the ride.

“Kailangan po at least namamaintain, mechanical yan. May vibration ‘yan, may mga movement ‘yan, so the more na nagvivibrate ‘yan, the more na gumagalaw ‘yan, so nagkakaroon po talaga ng loose ng mga turnilyo,” Santos said.

(The rides must be maintained because these are mechanical. There is vibration, there are movements, so the more they vibrate, the more they move,  there's really chances for some screws to loosen.)—Richa Noriega/LDF, GMA News