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Incident on The Smiler 02/06/2015

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Does anyone know why it took so long to get the people out of the carriage? Did they have to cut through the restraints?

Like everyone else I was very shocked this could happen - the theory someone mentioned a few pages back seemed feasible, that they were trying to take the populated carriage back down from the lift hill but it went forwards instead?
 
John said:
They could have up to 4 available if they can make a complete train out of the two that crashed, otherwise 3.
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I would have thought that the two trains involved in the crash would need a full ultrasound inspection to check for metal fractures before going back in to service. Even though it might look like it's only the back row of the front train and the front row of the back train that are damaged, the impact would have sent serious shock through both trains.
 
Pepper_Plant said:
Does anyone know why it took so long to get the people out of the carriage? Did they have to cut through the restraints?
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From pictures, statements and general speculation I would assume that the front row of the car would have been crumpled - making it hard to cut people out. Also the fact that it was angled at about 45 degrees and about 25 feet above ground it would cause issues.

The emergency services also built a platform under the ride to safely remove the injured without causing them more harm.

All those things would have compounded the amount of time.
 
they wont use them. As for the length of time the awkward position the trains were in. Also if they expect spinal injuries or a situation where some could lose a limb they would take there time to make sure they don't mess it up and make it worse.
 
Well done to Nick Varney, he spoke very well and was clearly very shaken. Thought the presenter was a tad unfair in a couple of things he said. Yes it took 4 hours to get people off but I'm sure the emergency services knew what they were doing.

:)
 
Rob said:
Well done to Nick Varney, he spoke very well and was clearly very shaken. Thought the presenter was a tad unfair in a couple of things he said. Yes it took 4 hours to get people off but I'm sure the emergency services knew what they were doing.

:)
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he did very well. Rolling news. They want answers, not investigations.
 
Pepper_Plant said:
Does anyone know why it took so long to get the people out of the carriage? Did they have to cut through the restraints?
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Firstly shutting down the ride, evacuating other guests out of the area, getting the emergency services safely into the area, building the platform to reach the trains, securing the trains so they don't move so the emergency responders stay safe....
...then there's assessing the injuries, who to prioritise getting out first, how to get them out if they are trapped by more than simply the restraint, and doing so in the best way without exacerbating any injuries already suffered etc.
I would imagine all those things are going to take some time to do.
 
Thanks for the replies concerning the length of the rescue, it must have been horrible for the people who were waiting to be freed.
 
The main problem with the rescue will have been that the coaster is never designed to stop in that location.

Varney came across well the questions seemed fair and so did the answers.
 
It will be very interesting and perhaps disheartening to witness the effect this has on the park in years to come. In some ways, it may transpire to be a good thing for the future. They absolutely cannot suffer any knocks to their reputation, and while their safety record is stellar, that also accounts for customer service. People have a book to throw at them now. Any smaller, poorer park would struggle to come back from this, but then that's what makes it such a story: it happened at Alton Towers.

On the other hand, I can't help but be reminded about what we heard for years about their larger customer base perceiving a wooden coaster as somehow, 'unsafe'... Not that their aren't more pressing concerns at hand.

Wishing a full recovery to all those involved.
 
I think when news of the injuries comes out then there will be some serious. Serious crush injuries and 'life changing injuries' generally mean amputations, medically speaking. I hope to the end of the Earth that isn't the case.

People would seriously have second thoughts about riding this if that were the case.
 
Couldn't agree more about their safety record, it's been 9 years since the RMT crashed and how many people visit each year? times that by 9.
 
other parks/rides have had similar incidents still going. After a few months/couple of years all be just a statistic on a wikipedia page. Sad but true. Merlin is big enough, and will probably have some file detailing what they do now financially.
 
The severity of the injuries is what will stick in the public's mind. The Pepsi Max Big One has suffered two major crashes in twenty years and people still flock to it. I imagine The Smiler will stick around, but it's safe to say at this stage, what an absolute disaster of an installation it's been.
 
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