A 3-year-old girl has died after she was swept away from a bounce house during powerful winds at a park in Montreal.
Ava Ciampini was at a festival with her family at Ouellette Park on Tuesday when strong winds reportedly lifted the inflatable off the ground. The little girl was thrown several feet and hit the ground, according to CTV News.
Ten other people were injured in the terrifying incident. Ava was rushed to the hospital in critical condition but later died.
Witness Gino Moretto, whose granddaughter knew Ava, said the park looked like a “war zone” after the storm ripped through.
“It was horrible,” he told CTV News. “We never had a tragedy like this in the community. It’s heartbreaking. Very heartbreaking.”
“Nobody deserves this,” he added. “But this family — it’s a beautiful family.”
Ava’s devastated father, Luca Ciampini, told the Montreal Gazette that the family is still struggling to accept the loss.
They are “waiting for her to come back,” he said.
Wind speeds reached up to 50 mph that day, according to Environment Canada.
Ava’s death has sparked questions about bounce house safety, but her father said the family is not focused on the logistics right now. Instead, they are trying to honor the little girl they loved so deeply.
“She wants us to be happy and take care of our son and be there for each other, husband and wife,” Luca told the Montreal Gazette. “Everything that we do is for her.”
He remembered Ava as a “happy, silly, smart, little girl” who loved making people laugh.
“She’s just so intelligent, so sweet, so kind,” he said. “She was so motherly at such a young age and she just wanted to take care of people.”
Ava also adored her 1-year-old brother, Milan. Her father said she often hugged him, made him laugh and even sang songs to him when he cried.
“She loved her little brother,” Luca said.
The little girl shared a special bond with her father, too. The two would go on coffee shop dates together and enjoy weekend breakfasts.
“Things like that, on our own, just me and her, was kind of our activity,” he said.
The tragedy is even more painful because Ouellette Park held a special place in the family’s story. Luca said it was the same park where he asked his wife, Arielle, to be his girlfriend and later proposed to her.
“You always try to keep the tradition of bringing the family there, and that’s why we were there at the event,” he told the Gazette.
Ava’s family has chosen to donate her organs so she can be remembered as a hero.
“I’m going to make sure of that,” her father said.
Hundreds of neighbors and friends gathered at the park for a memorial service, leaving handwritten notes and stuffed animals in Ava’s memory.
A GoFundMe created for the Ciampini family has raised more than $479,900 CAD, or about $335,000 USD.
“She was the light of every room she walked into, and the hole she leaves behind is impossible to put into words,” the fundraiser said.
Madre Dei Cristiani Church, which hosted the event at the park, also held a memorial service for Ava.
Fr. Mussie Zerai Yosief offered his “deepest sympathy and spiritual closeness to the grieving family.”
“May the Lord grant them consolation in their sorrows, healing from their suffering, strength in their trials, and the peace that comes from His loving presence,” he said in a statement.
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