Horrified witnesses describe moment fairground ride 'rips apart' catapulting carriage into crowd, with four people including girl, 11, taken to hospital - as major health and safety probe begins

Horrified witnesses have described the moment a fairground ride 'ripped apart', catapulting a carriage into the crowd, with four people including an 11-year-old girl taken to hospital - as a major health and safety probe begins.  

Emergency services were called to the scene at Lambeth Country Show in Brockwell Park, London yesterday at around 6.20pm.

Among those injured included an 11-year-old girl, a man in his 50s, another male in his 40s and a woman in her 40s. 

Kareen Swaby, 41, had gone to the event for 'just a nice family day out' with her loved ones before things took a terrifying turn. 

Ms Swaby witnessed the shocking incident and told MailOnline how she saw a carriage on a ride 'come off its hinges and smacked the man in his head'.

She was stood next to a man who was injured by the ride, and said: 'Blood was pouring from his head. He got back up and he just collapsed again. At this time, I didn't know if he was conscious or not.'

Ms Swaby described how as the situation unfolded, she heard a 'little girl screaming at the top of her lungs'.

She added: 'So I've said to her, are you okay? Where’s your parents? Your family? Who you with? She said, that’s my granddad. My granddad, that's him.

'So she’s screaming, he’s on the floor.'

The Metropolitan Police said how 'enquiries are under way to establish the circumstances' and that 'the Health & Safety Executive will be informed'.     

Other fairground goers told MailOnline how 'all hell broke loose' and that people were screaming and crying after a ride reportedly suffered a catastrophic fault, that sent people 'flying through the air'.

One person described the scenes as 'like a horror movie' with another adding: 'People were running towards us and crying and screaming.'

An eyewitness added: 'People were running towards us and crying and screaming ... Saw a lady with blood streaming down her face. She had paramedics carrying her off the ride.

'As we were leaving they were putting up higher fences where someone was on the floor, they were being looked after by paramedics and the higher fences had black sheets around them and you couldn't see so someone was very injured and they were giving them privacy.'

The witness said that the rides stopped soon after the incident and said: 'I heard someone say that someone had come off the ride but I didn't see it.' 

Another eyewitness said: 'I am told a ride collapsed and all hell broke loose.

'It was horrific. The screams were terrible. Four people flew off and went through the air. It was like a horror movie.'

It's thought the ride that ripped apart was the 'Froggit' jump 'n' smile roundabout. 

A Lambeth Council spokesperson said: 'The incident was reported at around 6.20pm today and emergency services were quickly on the scene to treat four people who were injured.

'Paramedics and on-site teams cordoned off the area and those who were injured have been taken to nearby hospitals for further treatment.

'The situation is being closely monitored. The area around the ride is secure and the funfair has been closed.

'A thorough investigation is being conducted to determine the cause of the malfunction.

'Additional safety inspections are being carried out on all rides and attractions at the show

'We thank the emergency services for their swift response and dedication. The safety and well-being of our visitors remain our top priority.'

Lambeth Police said: 'Emergency services responded at around 6.20pm on Saturday to a fairground ride having failed at the Lambeth Country Show in Brockwell Park. 

'Four people have been taken to hospital. We await an assessment of their conditions. Nobody is trapped on the ride.'

They added: 'Enquiries are under way to establish the circumstances. Cordons are in place at the location. The Health & Safety Executive will be informed.'

The force later added: 'The four people taken to hospital from Brockwell Park are a man and a woman aged in their 40s, a man aged in his 50s and an 11-year-old girl.

'None of the four is believed to be in a life-threatening condition. We await full hospital assessments.' 

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: 'We were called at 6:18pm today to reports of an incident at Brockwell Park, SE24.

'We sent multiple resources to the scene including four ambulance crews and members of our hazardous area response team. We also dispatched London's Air Ambulance.

'We treated four people at the scene and took them all to major trauma centres.'