Sportsstuff Wego Kite Tubes Withdrawn From Market After Reports Of Deaths, Injuries
 

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Sportsstuff, Inc., of Omaha, Neb., is voluntarily recalling about 19,000 Wego Kite Tubes.

CPSC staff is aware of 39 injury incidents with 29 of those resulting in medical treatment. Those injuries include a broken neck, punctured lung, chest and back injuries, and facial injuries.

Sportsstuff has received reports of two deaths in the United States and a variety of serious injuries. Sportsstuff has been unable to determine the cause of the incidents.

Nevertheless, the company has withdrawn the kite tube from the market and is undertaking this voluntary recall out of an abundance of caution.

The Sportsstuff Wego Kite Tube is a 10-foot-wide, circular, yellow inflatable watercraft designed to be towed behind a powerboat. A rider in the tube becomes airborne by pulling on handles attached to the floor of the tube.

Model 53-5000 is printed on the tube near the product valve. The floor of the tube has black caution warning stripes.
The cover for the product bears a skull and crossbones and the statement "Never Kite higher than you are willing to fall."
The tubes were imported and sold through marine distributors, mail-order catalogs, and various retailers from approximately Oct. 1, 2005 to July 11, 2006 for about $500 to $600.

Consumers should immediately stop using the kite tubes and contact Sportsstuff at (866) 831-5524 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. CST Monday through Friday to learn how to obtain free replacement products.

Consumers can also visit the firm's Web site at www.sportsstuff.com for more information.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from more than 15,000 types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries and property damage from consumer-product incidents cost the nation more than $700 billion annually.

The CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard. The CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products contributed significantly to the 30 percent decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.

To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, call CPSC's hotline at (800) 638-2772 or visit CPSC's Web site at www.cpsc.gov/talk.html.

Consumers can obtain this release and recall information at CPSC's Web site at www.cpsc.gov.