Earlier today, Sunday the 21st July 2013, it became apparent following a variety of eyewitness tweets on Twitter that The Smiler, the brand new £18 million roller coaster at Alton Towers, suffered problems in the form of a bolt reported to have fallen from a piece of track.
It is not clear whether the bolt fell into the queue-line, or into a ride area away from guests waiting to ride the world record attraction.
TowersStreet Talk member lisadj was on-site at The Smiler when the incident occurred and took the following photos.
A number of tweets were made by people who saw the incident occur such as:
@ntsxo – “The fact a bolt flew out of the track from The Smiler and landed literally 2 metres away from us in the queue is the scariest thing.”
@katie_hanson1 – “I will never set foot on the smiler now not after seeing the track actually break
@NatalieMoore_01 – “About to go on the Smiler at #altontowers and a bolt flies out of the frame and they have to close it #niceone”
@Adamjnes – “Queuing for the smiler then a bolt sheared off the cart and smashed the metal above everyone #finaldestination”
Update Mon 22nd July 12:30: The Smiler currently remains closed to guests today. Alton Towers have also commented on the incident, with a spokesperson saying:
“Yesterday morning, Sunday 21st July, in line with our standard procedures, Alton Towers Resort closed The Smiler to investigate a small piece of debris that had allegedly fallen from the track.
At no time was any visitor at any risk, and 48 guests on the ride at the time were safely disembarked. As the health and safety of our guests is our primary concern, the ride will remain closed whilst the Resort’s technical team investigate.”
For the latest updates on Alton Towers ride availability visit www.ridetimes.co.uk or follow TowersStreet on Twitter or Facebook
