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Ride/Park Accidents

Sazzle said:
Another bit of news from Margate as the Scenic Railway appears to have experienced significant track damage:

IMG_3431.jpeg
(Image courtesy of the Looopings article linked below)

Kent Online article states the incident happened on 10 August:
www.kentonline.co.uk

Historic rollercoaster closed after gaping holes appear in tracks during ride

Britain's oldest rollercoaster was forced to close after gaping holes appeared in the tracks.
www.kentonline.co.uk

Looopings article below if you fancy an alternate language read…!

www.looopings.nl

Oudste achtbaan van Groot-Brittannië gesloten door zware beschadigingen

De oudste rollercoaster in het Verenigd Koninkrijk staat voorlopig stil. Het Engelse pretpark Dreamland Margate heeft houten achtbaan Scenic Railway...
www.looopings.nl www.looopings.nl
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Most parks don’t issue explanation of what’s gone wrong with an incident, particularly if there has been an element of negligence. But Dreamland’s communication does seem to be very lacking. They’ve not posted in their blog since January, they’ve not posted on their Twitter account since 2022, they’ve disabled their Facebook page… there doesn’t appear to be anything about the Scenic being closed on their website’s homepage, although there is a small note on the Scenic’s page.

You’d normally expect a bit more communication.
 
On Sunday, 1 September 2024, at 6:05PM, Channel 5 invites viewers to tune in for the eye-opening documentary “When Theme Parks Go Horribly Wrong.” This compelling program takes a closer look at the darker side of theme park experiences, sharing true stories of fun days out that turned into absolute disasters.
 
IDB said:
On Sunday, 1 September 2024, at 6:05PM, Channel 5 invites viewers to tune in for the eye-opening documentary “When Theme Parks Go Horribly Wrong.” This compelling program takes a closer look at the darker side of theme park experiences, sharing true stories of fun days out that turned into absolute disasters.
Click to expand...
Sean Evans from Lift Hills and Thrills is featured in this doc.
 
Poisson said:
Seems mad it can be forced to let the gondola down unless everything has seized
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Very probably that. IIRC it happened Chessington in the early 00's and the local brigade had great fun with their convertible car maker giant scissors removing some restraints.
 
Shaggy_Dog_ said:
That’s so lucky that someone happened to be there riding in the front row filming a good clear POV on that particular run when the incident happened. What were the chances of that?
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With the amount of people I have seen filming when they shouldn't probably not too insanely low.

I do wonder why people film it, I mean if it was a 360 camera I would at least understand wanting to catching your reaction, but all of them just use their phone and try to film straight and it will end in a shaky, noisy and awful video when there are better 4K version online and you don't have to risk your phone for it.
 
flyingguitar said:
all of them just use their phone and try to film straight and it will end in a shaky, noisy and awful video when there are better 4K version online and you don't have to risk your phone for it.
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Didn’t do a bad job on this one though!

Unbelievable that so much damage could be caused by what looks, at first glance, to be a relatively small piece of wood.
 
Funcone said:
Most parks don’t issue explanation of what’s gone wrong with an incident, particularly if there has been an element of negligence. But Dreamland’s communication does seem to be very lacking. They’ve not posted in their blog since January, they’ve not posted on their Twitter account since 2022, they’ve disabled their Facebook page… there doesn’t appear to be anything about the Scenic being closed on their website’s homepage, although there is a small note on the Scenic’s page.

You’d normally expect a bit more communication.
Click to expand...

The facebook page is active, with posts daily about events and the park opening.

www.facebook.com

Dreamland Margate

Dreamland Margate, Margate, Kent. 122,051 likes · 624 talking about this. The entertainment sensation, down by the sea. Free to enter! Open weekends & holidays. Rides, amusements, roller disco &...
www.facebook.com www.facebook.com

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Not really an accident, more incident on Blue Fire today which caused it to stall at a high location with guests. No injuries.

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Source: Loopings (Dutch)

Translation from Dutch article:

A full train from launch roller coaster Blue Fire in Europa-Park is stuck in a strange place. Around 12.50 p.m. the coaster train came to a stop at the highest point of the track at the highest point: the first turn after launch, at 38 meters altitude. This element is in front of a major looping.

An unusual location: it is very exceptional that the vehicle is in balance at exactly this point. If the train had a little or less speed, gravity would do its job. The area around the attraction was closed to the public, so staff and emergency services could do their work undisturbed.

Employees of Europa-Park quickly pulled out an aerial work platform, with which the unfortunate occupants could be communicated. An evacuation at high altitude was ultimately not necessary: the train was moved backwards around 13.35 hours, towards the launch area. It was applauded by spectators.

Wind icing

The problem was caused by strong gusts of wind. On information screens, the German amusement park warned visitors before stormy weather. “Due to the current weather conditions and the strong winds, some attractions are currently closed,” there was to read.

A spokesperson said there was no dangerous situation. He speaks of a "extremely rare case." “Thanks to the extensive security measures of Europa-Park, the passengers were immediately accommodated and the train was safely returned to the station with the help of a crane,” explains the information officer. All those involved were "professionally taken care of" immediately after the incident. Everyone was unharmed.
 
Worker killed during testing of Olympia Looping at Munich Oktoberfest.
www.br.de

Oktoberfest: Tödlicher Unfall bei Achterbahn-Testfahrt

Auf der Baustelle zum Oktoberfest ist am Montagvormittag ein Arbeiter bei einem Unfall getötet worden. Er wurde bei einer Achterbahn-Testfahrt von einem Zug erfasst. Nach neuen Erkenntnissen der Polizei reagierte der Mann nicht auf einen Warnton.
www.br.de www.br.de

Article is in German. It states a 20 year old worker was struck by a train during testing when he was still on the track during maintenance.
English report here from DW.com

Sadly this isn’t the only incident involving Olympia Looping in recent years, in 2022 an employee was also struck by a train and killed whilst it was at Wien Prater. Not great.
 
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