Five children injured as winds blow jumping castles

Five children were hospitalized with head and upper body injuries after powerful winds sent jumping castles flying in two separate incidents across Victoria and New South Wales on Saturday, September 5, 2026. The frightening events unfolded as a severe cold front brought damaging gusts to Australia's east coast, with wind speeds exceeding 90 kilometers per hour in some areas. The first incident occurred shortly before 11 a.m. at a children's birthday party on Lower Duneed Road in Mount Duneed, southwest of Melbourne. According to Victoria Police, a strong gust lifted an inflatable jumping castle into the air, throwing two primary school-aged children from it. Both children sustained upper body injuries and were transported by ambulance to Geelong University Hospital in stable condition. A large number of other children who were also playing on the castle at the time escaped injury. Paramedics from Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance and Advanced Life Support units attended the scene. A few hours later, emergency services responded to a second incident at Gardiner Park in Banksia, in Sydney's south, at approximately 1:20 p.m.