“Minions” have been around since the beginning of time, according to Universal’s “Despicable Me” spinoff, but this is the first time we’ve heard of one shutting down traffic.
A 40-foot-high inflatable likeness of one of the yellow pill-like creatures escaped it’s tether on Monday and caused traffic chaos in the Santry area of Dublin, Ireland, around 3 p.m. local time.
“We were driving down to the shopping center and we saw the giant balloon coming towards us,” eyewitness Erin Van Londen told Independent.ie.
While most people saw the funny side of the giant downed inflatable, Dublin City Councillor Paul McAuliffe was not amused — and didn’t think anyone should be laughing about the bizarre balloon encounter.
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“Escaped Minion at Omni in Santry may seem hilarious but its a dispicable breach of health & safety @DubCityCouncil,” he tweeted, including a dry reference to the original film featuring the lovable little creatures.
Not satisfied to take the joy out of what turned out to be a harmless incident, the councillor went on to promise to launch a full investigation.
“This afternoon’s incident on the Old Swords Road in Santry, which saw a giant inflatable Minion escape from its harness and tumble onto a busy local road, may at first glance seem like a humorous social media story. However it could have led to a far more serious incident,” Cllr. McAuliffe told Irish political site, the Fianna Fáil.
“I have referred the matter to Dublin City Council’s planning enforcement department to investigate if the inflatable cartoon character was the subject of any planning regulation and to question as to whether operators had implemented the appropriate health and safety measures.
“It seems like an innocent story and I am relieved that there were no injuries or serious damage to any property. However all the same we need to make sure that lessons are learned and a similar incident does not happen in the future,” he said.
Fortunately, the Gardaí — the Irish police force — was called out, and the runaway Minion was deflated.
Escaped Minion at Omni in Santry may seem hilarious but its a dispicable breach of health & safety @DubCityCouncil pic.twitter.com/w443usabzb
— Cllr Paul McAuliffe (@PaulMcauliffe) August 3, 2015
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