(Reuters) - About 21,000 inflatable water slides for in-ground pools are being recalled following the death of one woman, and severe injuries of others, when the “Banzai” slides deflated, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said on Thursday.
The faulty slides were blamed for the death of a 29-year-old Colorado mother who died in Andover, Massachusetts. The woman had fractured her neck after hitting her head at the bottom of the slide, which had partially deflated, according to a statement from CPSC, which announced the recall with Wal-Mart Stores and Toys ‘R’ Us Inc.
“During use, the slides can deflate, allowing the user to hit the ground underneath the slide and become injured,” CPSC said.
The slides, made in China by Manley Toys, Ltd., and emblazoned with the words “Banzai Splash,” were designed to be placed over the edge of in-ground swimming pools, which are generally made of concrete. It becomes a water slide when a garden hose is connected to the top of the chute, CPSC said.
Defective slides were also tied to injuries suffered by a 24-year-old man from Springfield, Missouri, who became a quadriplegic, and a woman from Allentown, Pennsylvania, who fractured her neck, CPSC said.
The recall involves about 21,000 slides sold nationwide for about $250 from January 2005 through June 2009. The recalled slides have the barcode 2675315734 and model number 15734 printed on the packaging but not on the actual slide.
CPSC urged consumers to return the entire blue and yellow slide, or to cut out two safety-warning notices on the slide, and to return them to Wal-Mart or Toys ‘R’ Us stores for a full refund.
Reporting by Barbara Goldberg. Editing by Bernadette Baum
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