Winds lift bouncy castle in Maryland, killing five-year-old boy

A five-year-old boy has died and another child has been injured after strong winds lifted a bouncy castle into the air in the US state of Maryland.

The children were playing outside the Regency Furniture Stadium in Waldorf when the inflatable was lifted 15 to 20 feet (4.5m to 6m) from the ground on Friday and landed inside the stadium where a baseball game was being played.

Some children fell to the ground before the bouncy castle, known as moon bounce, landed, Charles County Maryland authorities said.

According to weather reports for Friday, strong to severe stormy conditions were anticipated for the afternoon and evening.

As reported by CBS News, the BBC’s US partner, the storms were expected to deliver damaging winds, intense lightning and heavy rainfall.

Authorities say they received a call about the incident at 21:21 local time on Friday (01:21 GMT on Saturday).

Charles County Maryland said emergency personnel and volunteer first responders swiftly began patient care “within minutes of the incident”.

Southern Maryland Blue Crabs postponed its game on Saturday, saying the team’s thoughts and prayers were with the affected families and the wider southern Maryland community.