Dangerous playground in Uccle shut down for repairs

A popular children's playground in Uccle has been shut down for urgent repairs after an accident in which a four-year-old girl broke her foot.

The girl was taken to hospital, diagnosed with a fracture, and her foot was put in plaster, after getting trapped on a slide in Wolvendael Park.

“At the end of her ride, she started screaming in pain,” her parents told La Dernière Heure.

Maëlle De Brouwer (Ecolo), Uccle’s alderman for green spaces, said the family immediately alerted the commune.

“We carried out checks to see if the slide met safety standards. All the certificates were in order. We also contacted the company responsible for the installation,” which said the slide was not a danger,” De Brouwer added.

Nevertheless, the municipality also submitted a report to Belgium’s economy ministry, which is responsible for playground safety. During an inspection at the end of August, other potential risks were seen.

As yet, it is not certain when the playground will reopen. “We expect the final report within a few days,” De Brouwer told Bruzz.

“We want to reopen as soon as possible, but of course everything has to be safe. As soon as we have the answer from the inspectors, the company must make the necessary adjustments. It is difficult to say how long that will take.”