The investigation is progressing in the Var after the flight of an inflatable structure in the Var on Sunday. The accident resulted in the death of one person, a 35-year-old adult. Her daughter is seriously injured. His vital prognosis was still engaged on Monday.
[Updated August 1, 2023 at 10:13 a.m.] Two days after the take-off on Sunday July 30 of an inflatable structure in the Var on the site of the Wonderland Waterpark amusement park offering aquatic activities, the emotion remains great in Saint -Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume. On the night of Sunday to Monday, the death of a 35-year-old adult, father and one of the two identified victims, was announced by the mayor of the town Alain Decanis, in a publication posted on Facebook. On Monday, the vital prognosis of the 4-year-old girl, child of the victim, was still engaged. An investigation for injuries and manslaughter was opened and entrusted to the gendarmerie, which carried out ground surveys and aerial photos of the site on Monday, according to Var-Matin.
The Draguignan prosecution clarified a few elements on Monday. “The wind picked up and the structure was damaged, so they (the park managers, editor’s note) decided to suspend the activity. That’s when the accident took place” , explained the acting prosecutor of Draguignan, Guy Bouchet. Wind gusts at 55 km / h were reported on Sunday in this part of the Var. Questioned by BFM TV, a professional manufacturer of this type of inflatable structure, Stéphane Averty, considered “risky” the use of this type of game in these conditions, stressing that this type of castle can support a “maximum of 38 km / h so as not to take any risks”.
According to the first statements of the firefighters present on the spot on Sunday, the inflatable structure, which measured about twenty meters long and wide, moved about 50 meters, trapping the two people there. The park, called Wonderland Waterpark, opened this summer. The park’s Facebook page announces its closure for two days “in solidarity for the victims and the families”.
The message also goes back to the circumstances of the tragedy, with park officials referring to “an unexpected devastating tornado”. The Var department was placed on fire red vigilance on Sunday, due to a “rise in temperatures, a drop in humidity, with strong winds locally, and still a marked drought”, specified Météo-France.
