A 14-year-old Brazilian girl died when she flew out of her seat at a height of 30 metres in a free-fall attraction at an amusement park in the Brazilian city of Vinhedo, 75 kilometres from Sao Paulo, authorities say.
The teenager, identified as Gabriela Yokuri Michelari, fell from the Eiffel Tower attraction, a 70-metre drop.
According to the Fire Department in Jundiai, the city where the girl was taken, the victim suffered a blow to the head and died before doctors had a chance to treat her.
Witnesses said that the teen, who was with her parents, Brazilians of Japanese origin, fell Friday from the mechanical attraction from a height of 30 metres at the instant the cushioning effect was activated to brake the fall.
Other people who rode the same attraction told reporters that apparently the security catch of the girl's seat opened at the moment the brakes were applied and she fell through the air all the way to the ground.
The attraction, in which five people ride sitting side by side, reaches a speed of five metres per second as the free-fall hits a speed of 98km/h.
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