More than 20 people were injured when two gondolas on a Ferris wheel caught fire at a music festival near Leipzig. At the Highfield Festival in Großpösna, panic broke out when people saw smoke rising from the Ferris wheel.

According to the news agency dpa, the fire broke out in one gondola and spread to a second one during the night of Saturday. Four people suffered burns and one was injured in a fall.

Several people suffered from breathing difficulties due to smoke inhalation. Some emergency workers and police officers were hospitalized after complaining of symptoms due to smoke inhalation.

The police are investigating the cause of the fire.

However, the operator of the Ferris wheel stated that there were no passengers in the gondola in which the fire broke out.

A rescue helicopter was also used for the operation.

Numerous people shared pictures and videos of the incident on social media. German rapper Ski Aggu said he was told to continue his performance to avoid a stampede at the festival.

Around 30,000 people took part in the event.

“For a minute everyone was scared because there were people sitting on the Ferris wheel. They were screaming for help. Luckily the police were able to carry out rescue measures in time. Otherwise the whole wheel would have burned and there would have been even more victims.