Boy killed after pirate ship fairground ride collapses

Police investigating operator over suspected criminal negligence

Investigators inspect a fairground ride following a fatal accident at a night market in Pekalongan, Central Java

A teenager has died and three others have been injured after falling from a fairground ride in Indonesia, according to reports.

Taufik Mailano, 15, was killed when part of the pirate ship-style attraction broke off at a night market in the central Javan city of Pekalongan on Tuesday.

They were reportedly sitting on the back row of the swinging ride when an iron bar snapped, sending their seat crashing to the ground.

“Suddenly there was a noise, like a falling object followed by a person screaming,” a market trader told Indonesian news website Detik. “There were four people, all of them of them panicked, screaming. There was one bleeding, seriously injured.”

Taufik was taken to hospital but pronounced dead shortly after arriving. His funeral was held on Wednesday, reported the Tribun Jateng newspaper.

The boy's three friends, two aged 15 and one aged 16, were admitted to hospital for treatment.

Police have launched an investigation in the accident, with the ride’s operator suspected of criminal negligence.

The teenagers were reportedly trying out the attraction the night before the market officially opened.