TALLAHASSEE - Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles H. Bronson has announced that federal safety officials and the manufacturer of a marine kite tube are working together in the voluntary recall of 19,000 of the devices because of their association with numerous injuries and two deaths.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Sportstuff Inc., of Omaha, Nebraska, have already pulled the product - the Sportstuff Wego Kite Tube - off the market and are now asking consumers who have purchased the items to immediately stop using them. Consumers who purchased the tubes are asked to call Sportstuff at 1-866-831-5524 to learn how to obtain free replacement products.
The tube, which cost between $500 and $600 when sold between last October and earlier this month, is a 10-foot-wide circular, yellow, inflatable watercraft designed to be towed behind a power boat. A rider in the tube becomes airborne by pulling on handles attached to the tube.
According to the CPSC, the tube has been implicated in 39 accidents and at least two deaths. Injuries have included a broken neck, a punctured lung, as well as chest, back and facial injuries.
Bronson's department assists the CPSC in the recall of dangerous items by checking stores, thrift shops and other locations when any such items may remain.