An elastic cord came loose on a catapult fairground ride in Hengelo this week, leaving two people with mild injuries due to a suspected production fault, reports NOS.

Fairground manager Mo de Vries has told Tubantia news site that a production fault with the elastic was probably the cause, but this has not been confirmed by the NVWA consumer product safety authority. This body told NOS that investigations continue, but the incident has sparked a debate on whether routine safety checks in the Netherlands are adequate.

On Sunday evening, while two people were in the ‘catapult’ ride at Lambertuskermis fair in Hengelo, one elastic attachment came loose. Video footage shows the couple being brought to the ground and walking out, reportedly with slight injuries.

De Vries reportedly told Tubantia: ‘We buy the elastic in this attraction from a certified manufacturer in Austria. According to the safety instructions, it can be ‘shot’ 300 times and this was the 261^st time. So this should not have happened. I can only think that there must be a production fault in the elastic. I immediately returned my whole stock.’

But a company inspector and emeritus professor in safety science Ben Ale told the Telegraaf that amended legislation means fairground visitors have less guarantee of safe rides. ‘Butchers should not check their own meat,’ he said.

Fairground rides are inspected and certified once a year by the AKI inspection body, reports NOS, and the NVWA body also carries out spot checks if there are reports or suspicions of incidents. There are also municipal checks, which can now be outsourced to an inspection company – the apparent source of Ale’s concerns.