23 tourists injured after carousel snaps mid-ride at Saudi amusement park

By AFP August 1, 2025 | 12:36 am PT

At least 23 people were injured when a fairground attraction in Saudi Arabia snapped mid-ride, sending its full carousel plunging to the ground, media reported on July 31.

Footage circulating online show the "360 Degrees" ride breaking in half, with the circular carousel crashing down from a height of several meters.

The Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV channel reported 23 injured, four of them seriously, in the accident on July 30.

The amusement park in Taif, in south-west Saudi Arabia, has been closed and an investigation is under way, Al Arabiya added.

Saudi Arabia has been building multiple leisure and entertainment attractions as the long-cloistered desert country seeks to diversify its oil-reliant economy.

Among its so-called giga-projects is Qiddiya near Riyadh, billed as an "entertainment city" of theme parks and a motorsports racetrack.