Crowd catches girl who falls from theme park ride

A teenage girl has plunged eight metres (25ft) from a halted theme park ride into a crowd of people trying to catch her.

The unnamed 14-year-old fell from the Sky Ride at Six Flags Amusement Park in Lake George, New York state, on Saturday night.She was rushed to hospital after plummeting from the gondola ride but is in a stable condition with no serious injuries.The girl, from Delaware, was in one of the ride's two-person cars with another child, a relative of hers, when it was stopped by an operator following a report someone was in distress, officials said.After falling from the car, the girl struck a tree before landing in the crowd of park guests and employees, who had gathered below in a bid to catch her.The teenager was treated by park staff before being taken to a local hospital by ambulance and then airlifted to Albany Medical Centre, 55 miles away.A 47-year-old man was treated at hospital for a back injury he suffered while attempting to catch the falling teen.The ride has been closed in order to carry out safety checks but officials said it appeared to be working properly.The park said: "There does not appear to be any malfunction of the ride, but we have closed the attraction until a thorough review can be completed."