Weekend whirlwind toll: 2 children dead, 20 hurt when trampoline blew away

Two children died and another 20 people, including 18 children, were injured when a giant inflatable trampoline they were playing on was blown away by a tornado-like whirlwind on Sunday in Yucheng county of Shangqiu, Henan province.

All the injured have received treatment and were in stable condition as of Monday, and the county government vowed targeted medical and psychological treatment for everyone injured, the county said on Monday.

The sudden whirlwind hit amusement facilities at a scenic spot in the county around 3 pm Sunday, the local government said.

Zhang Xia, chief forecaster of the Henan meteorological service, said the whirlwind had a diameter of 10 meters, and lasted three to four minutes.

"The giant inflatable trampoline was flipped over by the whirling wind, and yellow sand was in the air. I saw two children falling down to the ground and many more screaming," a witness said on video sharing platform Miaopai. "It also blew down a big tree," the witness said.

Two children died, and a third one was seriously injured. The other 17 children and two adults had minor injuries, and were sent to a nearby hospital to receive treatment, the local government said.

A whirlwind looks like a small tornado, but it is not, according to weather.com.cn, a website of the National Meteorological center for public information.

Unlike tornadoes, which are accompanied by thunderstorms and strong gusts, it's more like a small cyclone that whirls dust and small objects into the air to form a pillar, the report said.

They can have diameters of several meters and usually last a short time, so it was rare to see such a powerful whirlwind with such destructive results, it said.