THIS is the terrifying moment a freak wind blew a bouncy castle 40ft into the air sending children plunging to the ground.

The shocking footage shows children falling from the inflatable as onlookers scream in horror.

The incident happened when an unexpected gust blew the castle into the sky at a fundraising day at a school in South Africa.

Instead of dropping back down to earth, the video shows the inflatable continuing to spiral upwards over Laerskool Protearif primary at Krugersdorp.

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But the most heart-stopping moment comes when two kids fall off the floating castle.

Terrified parents scramble to break their fall as they drop from the inflatable, no longer able to cling on.

While the onlookers managed to form a human crash mat, the two kids are still reported to have been seriously injured.

One of the children is understood to have suffered a fractured skull, and the other a broken arm.

The bouncy castle later landed around 50ft from where it took off.

It is not known if any other children were on it at the time of the incident.

A statement on the school’s Facebook page confirmed that two kids had been taken to hospital following the incident.

The fundraising event was attended by more than 1,000 parents, pupils and friends last Saturday.

The school’s statement reads: “It is with great gratitude that we are happy to share the very good news with you.

“The two children who were injured in the structural accident at the Protea festival on Saturday were released from the hospital on May 31 and June 3, respectively.

“Both children, along with their classmates who witnessed the incident, received needed trauma counseling, and I want to thank everyone for their support during this time.

“We thank you very much for everyone’s positive support, help and prayers.”

The school, which has 620 pupils aged 6 to 13, previously hit headlines in 2017 when a tornado blew off its roof and destroyed its buildings.

An eyewitness of the bouncy castle takeoff said: “When they fell I thought they were dead.

“I was at a food stall with my daughters when I heard screams, turned around, and saw this blue, green, and red object soaring into the sky.

“Then there was a huge scream when first one child and then another fell out but of all the places they could have landed it was right over a group of parents below.

“They reached up their arms to try to catch the falling children and undoubtedly saved their lives or saved them from much worse injuries by cushioning them.

“It was not a very windy day but it seemed this huge gust just came from nowhere and it was said the bouncy castle had not been secured to the ground.”

It is unclear from the footage if the bouncy castle had been securely tethered ahead of the incident.

Melissa Vere Russel of ABC Jumping Castles, which was not the company used, said: “In high gusts a bouncy castle can act like a parachute and the wind can carry it away.

“All castles are manufactured with mechanisms to secure them to the ground and failing to anchor them properly could end in disaster and could be fatal.”

It comes after an Australian bouncy castle operator was found not guilty of failing to comply with safety laws after the tragic death of six children in Tasmania when strong winds blew an inflatable into the air.

The horror incident happened in 2021 when a bouncy castle was blown three feet into the air and landed in a tree 160ft away.

Six children died and three others were seriously injured.

But owner of operator Taz-Zorb Rosemary Gamble was cleared of breaching work safety laws after the tragedy was ruled to be “due to an unprecedented weather system that was impossible to predict and avoid”.

Angry parents reportedly shouted at the bouncy castle owner after the verdict.

Gamble’s lawyer read a statement on her behalf, saying: “I never meant for something like this to happen. And I am just so sorry that it did.

“I am a mother. I can only imagine the pain that other parents are living with each and every day because of this terrible thing that happened.

“Their loss is something I will carry with me for the rest of my life.”