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A Mexican teenager died after falling from a carnival ride, with horrific video showing her flying out of her seat as the ride reached full speed.
Gabriela Rodriguez Tezoco, 18, died on Tuesday night following the accident at a festival in Los Cabos, Baja California Sur, local outlet Expreso reported.
Cell phone footage taken by another rider shows Tezoco plummeting to the ground from “The Pendulum,” a spinning ride at the Cabo San Lucas Traditional Festivals.
Other riders could be heard screaming as the teenager fell off while the ride kept spinning at high speed.
Emergency services rushed to treat Tezoco, who was taken to a nearby hospital, where she sadly died from her injuries early Wednesday morning.
“It is with deep sorrow that we report that the young woman who was injured in the incident that occurred in the amusement park area of the Cabo San Lucas Traditional Festivals, and who was immediately transferred to receive medical attention, lost her life despite the efforts of the health personnel,” the Los Cabos City Council wrote on social media.
“The Pendulum” ride was closed in the wake of the incident while safety tests are carried out on it and the other attractions at the fair, Los Cabos mayor Christian Agundez told local reporters.
“Today, with the same spirit with which we come together to celebrate, we must come together to support Gabriela’s family. It could have been any one of us. You are not alone,” Agundez said during an appearance at a concert which was part of the festival.
An investigation has been opened both into the circumstances and to determine potential liability, the Baja California Sur State Attorney General’s Office reported on Wednesday.
So far, no arrests have been made, and no one responsible for the ride’s operation has been publicly identified.
Tezoco had just graduated this summer from the Baja California Sur College of Baccalaureate Studies.
“May your smile remain alive in our memory and may your memory always be a light that guides us,” the school said in a tribute.