Terrifying footage captures the moment two children cheat death after falling from a bouncy castle blown 40 feet into the air by strong winds.

The horror happened during a fund-raising day at a school in South Africa when an unexpected gust caused the apparently untethered inflatable to take flight.

Witnesses at the Laerskool Protearif primary in Krugersdorp screamed in terror as the multi-coloured castle spiralled high into the sky with children still inside.

A shocked attendant watched helplessly as one of the trapped youngsters was unable to hold on and plummeted to the ground below.

Just moments later, a second child also lost their grip and and plunged off the side of the inflatable.