Bounce houses go airborne; 13 hurt

A strong wind gust sent one of the bounce houses high into the air.Three bounce houses float away at a soccer tournament in New York Thirteen people suffer minor injuries"It was like something out of a movie," Marianna Rhatigan says

(CNN) -- A heavy gust of wind blew away inflatable bounce houses with children inside at a New York soccer event, leaving 13 people injured, authorities said late Saturday.

The Oceanside United Soccer Club in Long Island was hosting a tournament Saturday afternoon when three bounce houses started floating away, said Eric Evensen, a Nassau County police officer.

"As children were inside, a heavy gust of wind blew across the field, raising them off the ground and sending them airborne," he said. "Once they hit the ground, they began rolling and struck several people on the ground."

Lara Rhatigan said she was about to enter a ride when her neck got hooked by a rope connected to a bounce house.

"The wind blew everything down," she told CNN affiliate News 12 Long Island. "It felt like someone was grabbing my neck and they were dragging me."

Her mother was getting hot dogs at the time, and turned around to see the houses floating away.

"I couldn't believe it. It was like something out of a movie," Marianna Rhatigan told the affiliate.

The 13 people were treated for minor injuries at local hospitals, according to authorities.

"I don't think there'll be any criminal charges, but I'm sure there could be some civil," Evensen said.

CNN

Japan warns ships to avoid floating houses, debris

Floating debris from last month's tsunami is so enormous it is clogging shipping lanes off Japan, prompting Japan's coast guard to warn ships to give the area an especially wide berth, Bloomberg Businessweek reports.

The coast guard, which is posting daily reports on the the debris on the Internet, is warning ships to stay about 45 miles farther from the area of a stricken nuclear plant than is required for safety from radiation.

"Our forces have seen everything from cars to tractor-trailers to entire, intact homes floating in the ocean," say Anthony J. Falvo, a spokesman for the U.S. 7th Fleet, which is helping with recovery efforts, Bloomberg Businessweek reports. "They have never seen anything like it."

Ships are particularly worried that major debris will damage propellers.

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