At least 23 people were injured when a fairground attraction in Saudi Arabia snapped mid-ride, sending its full carousel plunging to the ground, local media reported on Thursday.

Footage circulating online showed the “360 Degrees” ride breaking in half, with the circular carousel crashing down from a height of several metres.

The Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV channel reported 23 injured, four of them seriously, in the accident on Wednesday.

The amusement park in Taif, southwest Saudi Arabia, has been closed and an investigation is underway, Al Arabiya added.

Saudi Arabia has been building multiple leisure and entertainment attractions as the long-cloistered desert country seeks to diversify its oil-reliant economy.

Among its so-called giga-projects is Qiddiya near Riyadh, billed as an “entertainment city” of theme parks and a motorsports racetrack.