Highfield Festival will resume this evening following the incident At least 30 people have been injured after a Ferris wheel caught fire at a German rock music festival yesterday (August 17). The incident occurred at the Highfield Festival at Störmthaler Lake, close to the city of Leipzig, last night at around 9:13pm. Two people are being treated for serious injuries, The German Red Cross told German publication Bild .
First responders, including police officers, are among the 30 injured. The fire broke out on one gondola before spreading to a second, according to Leipziger Zeitung , a local online newspaper. It is not yet clear what caused the fire.
Footage of the Ferris wheel continuing to spin despite the fire has circulated on Twitter/X. Firefighters on the scene tipped the two gondolas upside down to prevent the fire from spreading further. Aktuell brennt ein Wagon vom Riesenrad auf dem #highfield Festival! Am besten nicht mehr Richtung Gelände laufen pic.
twitter.com/3jh9pGaUhG — mueckenmoerder (@mueckenmoerder) August 17, 2024 UPDATE: The fire is still burning on a ferris wheel at the Highfield Festival in Leipzig, Germany – which attracts 30,000 people every year. There were still passengers onboard the ferris wheel as it went up in flames.
#BREAKING #Germany pic.twitter.com/gRmw2AzWEt — Target Reporter (@Target_Reporter) August 17, 2024 German rapper Ski Aggu cut his set short after the blaze broke out.
Writing on his Instagram story, he said: “I am absolu.