Australian Amusement Fanatics

Three girls have been injured after a ferris wheel car they were riding in broke free and fell eight metres at a festival near Byron Bay in northern NSW.

Police said the girls were able to climb from the car after it fell shortly after 7pm (AEST) on Tuesday.

Two girls aged 15, one from Tweed Heads and the other from Queensland, suffered back injuries, while a 16-year-old girl from Byron Bay escaped with cuts and abrasions, police said.

They were treated at the scene by NSW paramedics and taken to Tweed Heads Hospital.

WorkCover inspectors will be conducting an investigation on the site, police said.

The three girls are expected to be released from hospital on Tuesday evening.

Good to hear the injured girls will be okay. It's always a fear I have, a car falling from a Ferris Wheel!

"There were three or four people in there, all on the one side which makes it unbalanced," she said. "They got caught on the structure, it got unhinged and just fell to the ground."

Did they get out of their seats mid-ride and go to one side for a generation-y I-phone photo opportunity?

I'm glad all riders are OK and hope the same for the owner and staff.

ferris wheels probably should have some sought of seatbelt, like a car has so it is very simple, to try and deter people from moving in their seats, it would be a pain for operators, but it could also prevent things like this from happening

Glad no one was seriously injured - does anyone know who was operating it?

Who's Wheel was it? hope wasn't one of australias new ones!

i think it was Clay Gills, however i am not 100%