Four injured after plastic helicopter falls into pool at popular water park
Four people have been injured after a plastic helicopter fell straight into a pool at a water park.
The decoration dropped from the ceiling, hurting a handful of people who have since been taken to hospital.
The New Jersey water park has now been closed while officials investigate how the plastic helicopter fell down in the first place.
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The DreamWorks Water Park in New Jersey, US, will remain closed until later this week, following the serious incident that took place in one of the park's pools last Sunday (19 February) after approximately 3 pm.
The 8.5-acre indoor water park is located within the American Dream Mall.
A plastic decorative helicopter plummeted from the ceiling into the pool, injuring at least four people. One person was later taken to a nearby hospital while the other three were treated at the scene.
But New Jersey State Police have confirmed that all four individuals suffered minor, non-life-threatening injuries.
It has not yet been explained as to how the helicopter became detached from the park's ceiling but operators of the mall have since assured people that a 'thorough investigation' would commence.
Footage posted to Twitter shows the moment after the helicopter came crashing down.
Lifeguards can also be seen rushing to the scene.
Dominic Carter, a local radio host who was at the park at the time, tweeted: "Something just went terribly wrong at DreamWorks Water Park."
Reporting from the scene, he added: "A loud noise. Something fell. Entire park shut down. State Police on the premises."
Another eyewitness, Luis Mondesi, also tweeted: "A huge section of the American Dream Mall Waterpark collapsed as me and my family were walking towards that section to get our son."
Mondesi said that his son was just '10 metres' from the section that collapsed.
"Pandemonium arose and people left in droves," he added.
— American Dream (@americandream) February 20, 2023
"I truly hope nobody got seriously hurt. I ran towards the chaos to get my son and then leave." the father concluded.
American Dream officials have since released a statement on the matter.
It reads: "The safety of our guests is our highest priority. We will conduct a thorough investigation into this incident to ensure the park meets all safety regulations as required."
After the incident took place, the American Dream Mall tweeted that the DreamWorks Water Park would close for the day and would be shut until Monday (20 February).
However, following the situation, the mall has now alerted the public that the water park will shut its doors all the way through to Wednesday (22 February).
LADbible has reached out to DreamWorks Water Park for comment.
Rhiannon Ingle