Girl, five, killed in freak balloon accident

A five-year-old British girl was killed when she was swept away in the mooring ropes of a tethered helium balloon ripped from the ground during freak storms, it was confirmed today.

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 Monchengladbach when the tragedy happened.

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 UK 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 hail stones.”

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 had stopped and the sun came out again. It was utter chaos for a couple of minutes.”

Within 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 today being comforted by family liaison officers and were said to be “devastated” by the loss.

The show, which had only been open for an hour when the incident happened at 1pm yesterday, is an annual public relations event for the British Army in Germany and features a variety of military displays.

As many as 3,000 people had already gathered on the showground when the balloon ripped away from its moorings. The rest of the two-day show has been cancelled as a mark of respect.

Formal identification of the body is not expected to take place until Tuesday evening. German police officers are currently conducting preliminary inquiries

Lt Col Wildman said the investigation would look at a number of issues including whether the correct safety procedures were followed when tethering the balloon to the ground.

A series of storms across Germany have wreaked chaos across the country, with two other people killed in separate weather-related incidents.

The helium balloon was intended to lift people up to a height of 50 metres on a winch system and was capable of carrying three to four people.