Bouncy castle operator cleared in tragedy that killed six children

An Australian inflatable castle operator in the center of a tragedy in 2021 which killed six children and seriously injured three Was authorized to break safety laws.

A court discovered that Rosemary Anne Gamble, who heads the Taz-Zorb company, not guilty, judging that the incident was “due to an unprecedented meteorological system” which was “impossible to predict”.

The victims, who were on an inflatable castle during a day of pleasure in primary school in Devonport, in Tasmania, fell by around 10 m (33 feet) after strong winds blowed the castle to the sky during a school fair.

Friday, the verdict caused anxiety among their families, some shouting in the incredulous court, reported ABC News.

The prosecutors had accused Ms. Gamble of not having anchored the castle adequately, but her defense argued that she could not have done more to eliminate or reduce the dangers that led to the tragedy.

The magistrate Robert Webster agreed with the defense and found that the incident had occurred due to a dust devil – a spiral vortex upwards and debris – which was “unforeseen and unpredictable”.

“Ms. Gamble could have done more or take additional measures, however, given the effects of Dust Devil unexpected and unpredictable, if she had done so, which would unfortunately have made no difference in the ultimate result,” said the magistrate.

The six children killed in the accident – Addison Stewart, Zane Mellor, Jye Sheehan, Jalailah Jayne -Maree Jones, Peter Dodt and Chace Harrison – were 11 to 12 years old.

They were all in a faire for the Hillcrest primary school when the accident took place on the last day of the quarter before the school holidays in December 2021.

Five of the children were on the castle when the gusts swept away and threw him through the school oval.

The sixth child, who was in line, died after being hit by the head by the inflatable blower.

The tragic accident broke Devonport, a city on the north coast of Tasmania with some 30,000 inhabitants.

Ms. Gamble was billed almost two years afterin November 2023.

Andrew Dodt, the father of one of the young victims Peter, said after Friday’s verdict that “our hopes are just broken”.

“At the end of the day, all I wanted was apologies for my son who does not go home, and I will never get it, and that kills me,” he said in a statement to local media.

“I have been broken for a long time, and I think I’m going to be broken for much more.”

Ms. Gamble’s lawyer Bethan Frake spoke in his name, recognizing that the incident has caused “scars that will remain extremely long, probably forever”.

“I am a mother,” she said, quoting Ms. Gamble. “I can only imagine the pain with which other parents live every day because of this terrible thing that happened.”

“Their loss is something I will wear with me for the rest of my life.”