Six school-age children jumped to their death in Tasmania. The tragedy known as the horrific jumping castle incident killed 12-year-old Jye Sheehan and five of his classmates when a freak gust of wind blew the school children off the edge to fall more than thirty feet to their deaths during the Devonport’s Hillcrest Primary School’s end-of-year celebrations, and the country has been left devastated by the accident that occurred only days before Christmas.
The funerals for the Year 6 students were going to be held on Friday morning. Glen Sheehan, the father of Jye, had been involved in a horrible accident that left him in a coma at the time of his son’s death. However, he happened to wake from his coma on Friday in time to hear about his son’s death before he was put into the ground. However, Glen was not allowed to leave the hospital’s intensive care unit and had no way to be near his son or watch the services due to his precarious condition.
One family member spoke to Daily Mail Australia about the sudden death of Jye and the medical condition of Glen, describing it as a “delicate situation.” Because the Sheehans must face these back-to-back tragedies, they are trying to cope one day at a time. Fortunately, their community has come together with an outpouring of good words and tributes for Jye, who was set to start high school next year.
“Absolutely devastated,” a mourner wrote on Facebook.
“Rest easy little man,” a cousin wrote on Facebook.
Another loved one who knew Jye described the young boy as a “happy” child who enjoyed a good sense of humor.
“He was such a happy young man full of so much energy and would make all the children laugh,” she said.
The six victims in the jumping castle incident were Jye, Addison Stewart, 11, Zane Mellor, 12, Jalailah Jayne-Maree Jones, 12, Peter Dodt, 12, and Chace Harrison, 11. They were all celebrating with classmates for the end of the year when the freak gust of wind knocked these children off the edge and to their deaths.
The parents of these children had expected to celebrate the Christmas holiday with them and hand over presents. Instead, grieving parents were forced to use their Christmas breaks to plan their little ones’ funerals because of the freak accident.
Two other victims survived the freak accident. However, they’re still fighting for their lives in the hospitals after spending a week in critical condition at Royal Hobart Hospital. These survivors are recovering from horrible injuries, including multiple broken bones, internal injuries, and blunt force trauma.
Beau Medcraft is the ninth child thrown from the airborne bouncy castle. They are recovering at home now because they were released from the hospital.
What do you think about this horrific tragedy in Tasmania?