A 3-year-old girl dies after inflatable castle tossed into air in Montreal park

MONTREAL — A 3-year-old girl has died after she was seriously injured over the weekend when strong winds lifted an inflatable castle into the air during a community celebration in a Montreal park, the coroner’s office confirmed Tuesday.

Eleven people were injured with six of them sent to hospital when the bouncy castle and a tent were tossed by high winds on May 31 at Parc Ouellet in LaSalle, a borough in southwest Montreal, emergency medical services said.

Coroner Martine Lachance has been assigned to investigate the causes and circumstances surrounding the death.

“At the conclusion of her investigation … the coroner may also issue recommendations,” spokesperson Jake Lamotta Granato wrote in an email. “These are preventive measures aimed at protecting human life and preventing deaths in similar circumstances.”

A spokesperson for the coroner’s office told The Canadian Press that details of its investigation would remain confidential until it releases its final report.

“Since Sunday, all of LaSalle had been hoping alongside you. Today, it is with immense sadness that we learn of her death,” LaSalle Mayor Nancy Blanchet wrote in a statement addressed to the victim’s family.

Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada said she learned of the child’s death “with a heavy heart.”

“My thoughts are with her family, loved ones, and the entire community, which is mourning today following this tragedy,” she wrote on social media.

Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette also offered condolences to the family.

“No parent should have to experience the loss of a child,” Fréchette wrote. “The circumstances surrounding this tragedy, which occurred during a family celebration bringing together an entire community, make this ordeal even more difficult to accept.”

In a social media post published after the incident, Madre Dei Cristiani Church, a LaSalle Catholic parish serving the local Italian community, said it had experienced “a terrible time” during its annual festivities honouring the Virgin Mary.

“Strong winds … tore down tents and other objects, injuring several adults and children,” the church wrote.

The church declined to comment on the event.

Health Canada advises operators of inflatable structures to securely anchor them to the ground to prevent them from moving, tipping over, or lifting into the air.

A 2013 study published by the Public Health Agency of Canada identified 674 injuries associated with inflatable attractions reported through the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program between 1990 and 2009. Children between the ages of two and nine accounted for the largest share of injuries, while fractures represented more than one-third of reported cases.

Another study by researchers at Toronto Metropolitan University found inflatable structures were responsible for 42 per cent of amusement-ride injuries recorded in a U.S. injury surveillance database in 2010 — a higher proportion than any category of mechanical ride.

The study’s lead author, Kathryn Woodcock, echoed Health Canada’s recommendations for operators, adding that inflatable structures should not be used when weather conditions, including high winds, exceed manufacturers’ safety guidelines.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 2, 2026.

Charlotte Glorieux, The Canadian Press