Girl killed as helium balloon is ripped from ground during freak storms

A FIVE-YEAR-OLD British girl was killed when she was swept away in the mooring ropes of a tethered helium balloon which was ripped from the ground during freak storms, it was confirmed yesterday.

The youngster, who has not yet been named, was attending a military show with her family at a British Army base near the western German town of Moenchengladbach when the tragedy occurred.

Her body was discovered by police 40 miles away in the small suburb of Hamminkeln, at the end of a desperate two-hour search and rescue operation.

Witnesses described scenes of “havoc” as strong winds and heavy rain battered the showground at Joint Headquarters (JHQ) in Rheindalen, where British Support Command is based.

Lieutenant Colonel Helen Wildman, a British military spokeswoman who attended the annual event, said six other people were injured in the brief storm. One needed hospital treatment.

“It’s a miracle that no others were hurt, considering the state of the showground,” she said. “It just happened so quickly. It appeared to be a summer shower but soon turned into an incredibly heavy downpour with huge hailstones.”

Tents were plucked from the ground and pieces of furniture were sent hurtling through the air as spectators ran for cover, she added.

“Then we saw the balloon lift off, and within minutes the rain stopped and the sun came out again. It was utter chaos for a couple of minutes.”

The alarm was raised and a rescue operation was launched by the German authorities and the British military police.

“They began by searching the immediate local area around the showground, and were extending it further when they received a call from the police in Hamminkeln, near Wesel, to say that they had discovered the balloon and the body of a young girl.”

Her father, a British soldier, and mother, a German national, were yesterday being comforted by family liaison officers.

They were said to be “devastated.”

The show, which had only been open for an hour when the incident happened at 1pm on Sunday, is an annual public relations event for the British Army in Germany.