Two girls injured after being thrown from Ferris wheel at Louisiana festival

Two young girls were injured after they were thrown from a Ferris wheel at a Louisiana festival Saturday.

The two girls, around the age of 11, fell 15 to 20 feet to the ground while on the ride at the Harvest Festival in New Roads just before noon Saturday, Pointe Coupee Parish Sheriff Rene Thibodeaux said. A third girl was on the ride but managed to hold on, preventing her from falling, Thibodeaux told NBC News. To Thibodeaux's knowledge, the girl who held on sustained no injuries.

Eddie Jones, a fellow carnival attendee, witnessed the accident.

Jones told TODAY that he and his daughter were in line to buy tickets when they heard "a scream."

One of the girls was lying on the Ferris wheel platform as two police officers checked on her and shouted for a medic, as seen in a chilling video posted by Jones on Facebook. Toward the end of the video, the girl who managed to stay on the ride is seen climbing out of the bucket with the help of three adults.

It’s unclear what caused the bucket the girls were sitting in to suddenly tip upside down, Sheriff Thibodeaux told NBC News.

Both were taken to the Children's Hospital in Baton Rouge for their injuries. Though the extent of injuries was not disclosed, they are expected to survive.

After the incident, all the rides at the Harvest Festival were temporarily shut down.

The Louisiana State Fire Marshals inspected the rides, and all were reopened except the Ferris wheel, which remains shuttered.

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Video of the incident suggests a mechanical failure in the part that holds the children in their seats may be to blame, the sheriff said.

The Louisiana Fire Marshal's Office is investigating the incident.

The festival, which runs from Friday to Sunday, celebrates agriculture and community and includes food, live music, and rides, according to its website.

Crescent City Amusements, the company that Sheriff Thibodeaux said owns the Ferris wheel, did not immediately respond to NBC News' request for comment.