‘I was worried about passing away’: 11-year-old injured after harness fails on indoor zipline

Safety concerns arise after a boy falls from a Scarborough zipline onto a concrete floor below. Sean Leathong reports.

Eleven-year-old Ramin Azizi was waiting to ride a zipline at an indoor trampoline park in Scarborough, Ont., on Saturday afternoon.

Video taken by his mother, Mona Azizi, shows Ramin testing the rope before it was time for him to ride, but when his turn came, the harness failed and Ramin fell several metres to the ground.

His mother was screaming as bystanders rushed in to help, and the young boy laid on the concrete below until paramedics arrived.

Now, lying in his bed at home, Ramin told CTV News Toronto he was traumatized by the fall.

“I was all worried about passing away,” he said.

Ramin was lucky to escape with some internal bruising and more on his back. He is recovering at home, but said the pain is still there.

“It feels like my body has cramps and my back is still hurting since two days ago,” he said.

Mona broke down in tears when talking about the fear for her child.

“Even looking back, whenever I look at the video, I can like... I have no words to explain that,” she said.

Ramin’s father, Ahmed Sadir, wants answers.

“How did that thing fail?” he asked. “And they have no safety nets underneath. They have no padding underneath. He fell on the concrete floor.”

Ramin was at Aerosports Trampoline Park in Scarborough — a place that offers trampolines, go-karting, miniature golf and an obstacle course with a zipline at the end. Sadir said his son, who is living with autism, loves trampoline parks and was especially excited to try the obstacle course.

Sadir said they signed a waiver on entry, but when they got inside, there was only one staff member monitoring the course and fitting kids for a harness. He said no one was there to test the kid’s harnesses before the zipline.

He also said that staff was nowhere to be seen after the fall.

“They did not even call 911,” he alleged. “There were bystanders, there were some other parents who started calling and providing like, some compassion, and someone took off their jacket and put under the head of my son. No staff came in even until we left that facility.”

Sadir said other concerned parents called 911 and stayed with the family until an ambulance arrived.

“They (the staff) did not even stop their ziplines... they did not stop any other activities. They did not come to ask what is going on.”

Ramin was taken to SickKids hospital by ambulance, where he spent the night being looked after before being discharged.

Sadir can only wonder how much worse things could have been. He said the obstacle course runs several metres above the entire park with no nets or other safety features.

“Imagine if a kid falls on the go-kart track and the go-kart runs over (them). You can’t imagine the go-karts running right under where there’s a zipline,” he said.

CTV News reached out to Aerosports Trampoline Park, and they sent a statement saying: “We are aware of the incident and it is currently under review with our insurers and legal counsel. Given that this involves a minor, we are not providing interviews or comments at this time.”

Now, as they look after their son, Sadir and Azizi said they filed a police report and are hoping something is done. They also said they want parents to be aware.

“People try to find a safe environment where the kids can enjoy, and you cannot come back on a stretcher,” Sadir said.

He said they left belongings at Aerosports in the rush to get to the hospital but have not been contacted by the company — not even to offer an apology.