Father and son killed on fairground ride

A father and son were killed at a fairground outside Paris when a mechanical ride malfunctioned, throwing them violently to the ground, police said today.

Two other family members were seriously injured late last night on the "Booster" ride at the fairground in Saint-Germain-en-Laye west of Paris, which has two spinning mechanical arms with baskets for passengers at each end.

One of the arms broke off, sending a basket crashing to the ground, police said.

The victims were not immediately identified, but police said they were a 48-year-old man and his 21-year-old son. Two other members of the family, also in the basket, were taken to hospital.

Firefighters rescued two other people who were trapped for hours in the ride's other basket, about 120 feet from the ground.

Rescuers used ladders to reach the two - who were unharmed - then sawed through a safety bar to pull them free. Officials used cords to lower them to the ground.

Xavier Saguet, an official for the Fete des Loges, said the ride had recently undergone a safety check that found "nothing abnormal". Police were investigating the accident.

The Fete des Loges, France's oldest fair, is held every summer and traces its history back to 1652.