Woman in 'critical condition' after fall from ride at Cairns ShowFest

A woman is in a critical condition after falling from an amusement ride at the Cairns ShowFest in the city's Parramatta Park yesterday evening.

Initial reports suggest that the woman, who is in her 20s, fell from The Hangover ride while it was in operation at 5:30pm on Saturday before becoming 'entrapped' in the ride machinery.

Emergency services were called to the Cairns Showgrounds were the event was being held, taking the woman to Cairns hospital with “significant head and spinal injuries”, with paramedics having been forced to undertake a “difficult extrication”.

Reports suggest that the woman fell up to 30 metres from the top of the ride before plummeting into “components of the ride’s machinery”.

Multiple media reports present a mixed account of matters following the incident, with witnesses advising the ride continued to operate after the woman fell with workers unable to stop its movement.

Other reports say the ride was slowing down.

Other reports indicated that a crowd - including children - gathered around the ride after the incident.

The moments surrounding the incident were also captured on video and posted to Facebook before being removed.

A Queensland Ambulance spokeswoman said multiple paramedic crews attended the “workplace incident”, advising “the woman was freed and treated for significant head and spinal injuries. She was transported in a critical condition with a critical care paramedic and flight doctor to Cairns Hospital”

Queensland Police are reported to have advised that forensic crash investigators attended the scene with a joint investigation to be conducted with Workplace Health and Safety.

Images: A still from a video showing The Hangover in operation immediately prior to the incident (top, credit: Facebook) and The Hangover in operation earlier this year (below).