CINCINNATI -- The manufacturer of the ride involved in a deadly accident at the Ohio State Fair Wednesday is asking all owners of similar rides to shut them down pending an investigation.
One 18-year-old man was killed and seven other people were hurt when part of the "Fire Ball" ride broke off mid-swing during the fair's opening day. State inspectors had signed off on the ride just hours earlier.
The ride was manufactured by Dutch company KMG, the Associated Press reported. It was built in 1998 in the Netherlands.
Thursday, KMG sent out a letter asking all operators of the ride and similar models called Fireball/Afterburner and Move-it to "cease operation of the ride until further notice.
Gov. John Kasich had already ordered all rides at the state fair be shut down pending additional inspections after the incident. Various other ride operators across the country also said Thursday that they were shutting down their rides similar to the one that malfunctioned.
According to ride operator Amusements of America, the Fire Ball "swings riders 40 feet above the midway while spinning them at 13 revolutions per minute."
KMG Product Manager Albert Kroon wrote that "a passenger carrying gondola detached from the supporting sweep arm." A bystander captured the incident on video.
Kroon told a Dutch TV station that the company was on the phone with rescuers as they worked to free other riders who were still in seats after the accident.
He said he was shocked by what happened and told the Associated Press this was the first such serious malfunction of one of the company's rides.
