Story highlights Three girls were riding on Ferris wheel

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(CNN) Three girls were injured after they fell from a Ferris wheel at a county fair in eastern Tennessee, police said Monday evening.

Greeneville police Capt. Tim Davis said a basket reportedly overturned on a Greene County Fair ride and dumped the occupants out.

They fell 35 to 45 feet and were taken to the Johnson City Medical Center -- two by helicopter and one by ambulance, he said. All are alert and talking to hospital staff, Davis said.

Eyewitness Gregory Lynthacum said the car the girls were riding in appeared to "get caught" as the wheel lifted upward, CNN affiliate WJHL-TV reported

Another photo of the ferris wheel at the Greene County Fair, where three riders fell 40-50 feet this evening. pic.twitter.com/zkpS0AhFGA — Darren Reese (@GSunDarrenReese) August 8, 2016

"It was like watching water pouring from a glass," Lynthacum told the station. "They bounced off the metal bridging of the ride and eventually hit the ground." Operators finally stopped the ride after people on the ground screamed at them, Lynthacum said.

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