A FATHER was killed and his toddler seriously injured at a waterpark on Sunday after an inflatable structure violently took off due to strong winds.
The 35-year-old man and his three-year-old daughter were trapped inside the ride at Wonderland Waterpark in southern France when it was blown 160ft.
The horror incident occurred at around 3pm yesterday in the popular resort town of Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region.
Both of the injured were airlifted to hospital suffering from cardiorespiratory arrest.
The town's mayor, Alain Decanis, later announced that the father had died from his injuries.
"It is with great sadness that I learned late in the evening that the dad had not survived," he wrote on Facebook.
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The condition of the young child is currently unknown.
Decanis explained that the father and daughter had been playing when the inflatable structure – around 65ft long – was picked up by strong winds and "projected violently about fifty meters".
He added: "The firefighters and other rescuers arrived very quickly at the scene, but the situation was already critical when the two victims were airlifted to Marseille hospitals.
"How could a water park that we had accepted on the municipal territory to bring joy and happiness to children turn into a machine of death that struck down an entire family?"
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An investigation has been opened into the tragedy at Wonderland Park, which had only opened this summer.
Mayor Decanis also said: "I would like to offer my most sincere condolences to the mother present on the scene, who has shown remarkable courage, as well as to all the members of the family."
The Var area was on red alert for forest fires due to aggressive 34 miles per hour winds on the weekend.
Wonderland Park stated online that it will be closed for two days "in solidarity with the victims and the families".
"We are devastated," the park's management added.
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