Two people were killed and several others injured when a massive inflatable sculpture tore free from its moorings in a gust of wind yesterday.
The accident happened at the Riverside Park, Chester-le-Street, close to t he Durham County Cricket Club, at about 3.30pm.
Television footage showed the 2,500 square metre artwork - which could cover about half a football pitch - ripping free from securing ropes and tipping vertically into the air.
Many of those injured were inside the structure, which consists of inflated rooms connected by tunnels.
Durham Police conf irmed a 38-year-old woman and a 68-year-old woman were killed.
A three-year-old girl was in a serious condition in hospital and 11 other people, including both children and adults, were also injured.
It is believed 30 people may have in the inflatable at the time, Durham Police said.
The structure finally came to rest after it coll ided with a post supporting a CCTV camera and crashed to the ground.
Police said the women who died were taken to University Hospital in Durham. They had been on the inflatable with children.
The seriously injured girl was taken to Newcastle General Hospital.
The 11 other injured people were being treated at University Hospital in Durham, the spokeswoman added.
Police appealed for anyone with film footage of the incident to contact them.
The 5m-high structure was part of the Dreamspace exhibition at the Riverside Park. Last night its remains were strewn across the grounds of Riverside Park.
The red, yellow, and blue polythene was shredded and scattered over a wide area in the shadow of the CCTV pole that brought it crashing down.
A large section of the popular park on the outskirts of Chester-le-Street was cordoned off as police and Health and Safety Executive officers examined the scene.
