People gathered outside a primary school in Devonport on Thursday night for a candlelight vigil and flowers and messages of sympathy have been left near the gates.

Some residents turned off their Christmas lights as a mark of respect.

The children died from injuries sustained when the bouncy castle was lifted into the air by a sudden wind gust.

They and a number of others fell about 10 metres to the ground during end-of-year celebrations at Hillcrest Primary School on Thursday.

“People who just have no connection to the school or any of the families have just come in crying and grieving over the loss of the children in something that was supposed to be a celebration,” Fiona Morrison, a member of the local Uniting Church, told Nine Network on Friday.

“They just can’t believe what has happened.

“Last night, people turned off their Christmas lights in respect, or turned on their Christmas lights to offer the other children some hope, some light, at this time when they are grieving.”

The dead include two boys and two girls. The gender of the fifth child has not yet been revealed.

Flowers at the scene of the tragedy in Devonport which left five children dead: (Photo: ABC)

Three children are in a critical condition in Royal Hobart Hospital, while one has been discharged, Tasmania Police Commissioner Darren Hine said on Friday.

He said an investigation would probe whether the jumping castle was tethered

“It is difficult for me to find the right words in such tragic circumstances,” Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein posted on Facebook on Thursday night.

“On a day when school children are celebrating the end of term, so close to Christmas, it is simply inconceivable that this shocking tragedy has occurred.”

Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie, who went to school in Devonport, said people were still in shock.

“We still don’t know how the other four children are going,” she told Nine Network on Friday.

“It’s just awful. I don’t even want to pick up the phone, I know it’s going to be somebody that we know … a week before Christmas.”

Commissioner Hine said the island state was in mourning.

“These children were meant to be celebrating their last day of primary school, instead we’re all mourning their loss,” he said on Thursday.

“Our hearts are breaking for the families.”

Hillcrest Primary School was holding a ‘Big Day In’ celebration to mark the end of the school year, with the jumping castle and a number of inflatable zorb balls.

The school was closed and parents rushed to collect their children after the fatal accident. Several rescue helicopters were used to transport the injured to hospital.

Tasmanian Governor Barbara Baker and Prime Scott Morrison have extended their sympathies to the families and the community.

An investigation into how the jumping castle lifted from its footing will take some time as police need to interview multiple witnesses.

Officers remain at the scene, along with Worksafe Tasmania investigators, ahead of a report being given to the coroner.

Tasmania’s Education Department is providing support to the school children, their families and school. Counselling has also been offered to first responders.

“Our approach is being guided by our senior psychologists, who are trained in trauma-informed practice,” department secretary Tim Bullard said.

“What has occurred is a tragedy and there are no words that I can give that would take away the grief that those impacted families are feeling right now.”

A number of online fundraising accounts, including one for a boy named Zane and another for a girl named Addison, were set up on Thursday to support the affected families.

One had raised almost $250,000 as of Friday morning.