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8 people taken to hospital after being thrown from carnival ride

A father told WHBQ he watched his children fall 30 feet from the MoonRaker ride at the Delta Fair Saturday afternoon.

Eight people were sent to Memphis area emergency rooms after the ride malfunctioned, fair operators said.

Delta Fair owner Mark Lovell told WHBQ a ride operator prematurely released the restraints on the MoonRaker ride.

There were no serious injuries, Lovell said.

Witnesses and riders say otherwise.

Shawn Owens had three children on the ride.   "They are lying to you. They are straight out lying to you that no one got hurt. I got one in the hospital banged up beyond belief," Owens said.      Owen's two other children were on the ride as was his 11-year-old niece who has a cast on her broken ankle.   Owens told WHBQ the ride operator and fair officials tried to get the kids to "walk it off."   Robert Kruger had planned a special day out for his son.

"Today was supposed to be a fun day. I surprised them and told them we are going to the fair. They didn't even know they were going," Kruger said. "Now here he is in the hospital."

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Anna Jordon, 15, was on the ride.

"God was with us today," Anna said. "I'm so glad we did not die."

She told WHBQ she was at the top of the ride when it stopped and her safety harness released. She was able to hang on and was not injured. But she described a chaotic scene as children were treated for their injuries.

"We thought it was just part of the ride and then it stopped. We were all holding on and everyone was screaming and crying," Anna said.

Another rider echoed Anna.

"My sister and I thought she was going to fall completely off because she held onto the bar as it was going up," Kira Pesh, who was on the ride with her sister, said.

"As the ride was up in the air, it stopped completely moving, but it was still shaking and all the release belts came up.  Me and my sister and someone else next to me, we all fell on the bar."

The ride was closed after the accident.

This is not the first time people were injured at this year's fair. On Wednesday two workers were shocked setting up a ride.

The Shelby County Sheriff's Office initially said 14 people were thrown from the ride.

We have been informed of some misinformation that is being reported. There has been NO one thrown from a ride at the...

Posted by Delta Fair & Music Festival on Saturday, September 3, 2016

This is a breaking story. Check back with Fox13 Memphis for updates.