Amusement rides at Hibiscus Festival still in full operation despite incidents

The amusement rides at the Hibiscus Festival are still in full operation despite the incidents that has raised questions about the safety of the amusement rides.

Police have confirmed this to Fijivillage in the last hour and have also clarified that 3 youths in their early 20s fell from a height of about 2 metres from a ferris wheel on Monday night.

In another incident, an amusement ride that was in operation with people on it began to give off excessive smoke forcing operators to stop the ride completely, getting people to get off and move away from the ride and bringing in fire extinguishers to contain the problem.

When questioned by Fijivillage on whether the amusement rides at the festival are passed safe under OHS, the Hibiscus Committee President Hirdesh Prasad says that all their rides are inspected and passed under OHS.

Prasad says the committee is assisting in the treatment of those who were injured.

Meanwhile, Minister for Labour Jone Usamate says that a team of officers from the OHS department are investigating the matter and he is awaiting their report.