Second child dies after Spanish bouncy castle accident

The bouncy castle was lifted into the air by a gust of wind

A four-year-old girl has become the second child to die of injuries sustained in last week's incident involving a bouncy castle near Valencia in Spain.

The bouncy castle was thrown into the air by a strong gust of wind at a Christmas fair in Mislata on 4 January.

An eight-year-old child died from her injuries the following day.

Police have opened an investigation to determine if the bouncy castle complied with safety rules.

The four-year-old victim's father said she had a smile that "will not disappear".

"I say goodbye to the world in a tragic and unfair way," he wrote on Twitter, speaking for his daughter, who was called Vera.

He said that her organs would be donated, writing: "To the five little friends I help to live with my organs, be as happy as I have been".

Seven other children were injured after the inflatable structure became airborne, throwing several people to the ground.

The council has declared a period of mourning, during which official events are cancelled.

The parents of the first girl to die, named Cayetana, have begun legal proceedings, and are convinced that their daughter's death could have been prevented, according to Spanish media.

Their son was also on the bouncy castle at the time, but was not badly injured.

"As a father I don't know what to say about what happened. Just that life can be so unfair sometimes and no father or mother is prepared for this kind of situation or for coping with this enormous pain," said Cayetana's father, in a letter published in a Valencian newspaper.

He described her as the "joy of the house", and admitted that they have not yet had the courage to go into her bedroom.

Last month, six children died in Australia after a gust of wind lifted a large inflatable castle off the ground at an end of term school party in Tasmania.

The UK government's Health and Safety Executive notes that serious incidents can occur with bouncy castles in windy conditions, and offers safety advice on supplying, buying or hiring them.