A three-year-old Montreal girl has died from injuries sustained when a bouncy castle was lifted into the air by strong winds during a church event on Sunday, the Quebec coroner's office confirmed Tuesday.
The victim was identified as Ava Ciampini through a GoFundMe campaign created to assist her parents, Luca and Arielle, with funeral and memorial expenses. The family is also caring for their infant son, Milan.
The tragedy unfolded at Ouellette Park in the LaSalle borough, where the family's parish, Madre Dei Cristiani church, was celebrating the Feast of the Madonna. As thunderstorms passed through the region, sudden violent winds sent chairs, debris, and vendors' tents flying, and knocked people down. The inflatable bouncy castle was also sent airborne.
Witness Eric Chicas described seeing a large cube fly at least 40 feet into the air, comparable to nearby building heights. He expressed hope that no one was inside. It remains unclear how many children were in the inflatable at the time.
Montreal police officers already on scene provided immediate assistance, and emergency responders arrived quickly, deploying five ambulances and an advanced life support unit. Urgences-Sante operations head Valerie Guertin reported that paramedics assessed 11 people, transporting six to hospital: four adults and two children, including Ciampini.
Samuel Leon, a nearby resident, told CityNews he saw a woman carrying a limp little girl toward a car. Police then took the child and mother into their vehicle and rushed away.
The city had been under a thunderstorm watch since noon, and Environment Canada issued a weather warning about 30 minutes before the winds intensified. A meteorologist reported peak winds near 70 km/h.
The coroner's office expressed condolences to the family and all those affected.
