Empty bounce house goes airborne, hits electricity tower

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. – No one was inside an inflatable bounce house when a strong wind gust sent it flying into a western New York electric power transmission tower during a child’s birthday party.

WIVB-TV in Buffalo reports a family in the city of Niagara Falls had gathered Saturday for a backyard party when a big gust of wind blew the bounce house high into the air.

Smartphone video shows the bounce house briefly hovering above trees before veering toward the power lines, where it crashed into the top of a tower and deflated.

A utility crew later removed it from the tower.

Two years earlier to the day, three children were injured when strong winds lifted a bounce house off the ground in another part of the state.

This story was originally published June 22, 2016 at 8:42 AM with the headline "Empty bounce house goes airborne, hits electricity tower."