Ride/Park Accidents

[Bowser]

Joyride collapse at Surajkund Mela kills police inspector and injures dozen others

“A joyride at the Surajkund Mela in Faridabad, India, collapsed on Saturday evening, injuring 13 people and killing a police inspector. The accident occurred when a “tsunami” swing snapped mid-air and fell to the ground.”

Link to video (Reddit)

I’m not going to link as its grim but my instagram algorithm fed me more footage of this incident. It seemed a lot more people (likely relatives of the passengers) were crushed trying to rescue people as the other arm gave way and the ride dropped onto them

 

[pluk]

Knockoff topping really are ones to avoid, aren't they?

Two arrested in relation to this one.

2 arrested, special investigative team formed after ride collapses in India's Haryana

A police officer was killed while trying to save people after he noticed the ride was tilted; the ride reportedly hit him in the face and head

www.khaleejtimes.com

 

[Mi-Nigle]

(BBC) One killed as ski gondola crashes down mountain at Swiss resort

(Reddit) Video of gondola tumbling down mountain

What a horrible way to go.

A self-proclaimed ex ski-lift worker (on Reddit so take all the salt you need) reckons the cable clamp may have failed in the high winds but inspections for such things are usually pretty strict.

 

[Secret Weapon]

Back in the 1990s, I remember hearing that there were two (separate) ride accidents at Drayton Manor – but I have been unable to find any evidence of either one actually happening.

I have posted details below, and so if anybody knows whether either of these are true then I would be grateful to hear about it.

(In the pre-internet era, it was almost impossible to verify the accuracy of stories such as these*)

1) Shortly after the Splash Canyon river rapids ride opened in 1993, somebody allegedly stood up and fell out of the vehicle and into the water, and then became trapped behind the one of the rotating components that transport the vehicles up the ramp and back to the station – which, in turn – either crushed their ribs and/or prevented them from being able to breathe, causing them to unfortunately pass away.

For decades, I was convinced that this story was true – until I heard about another fatal accident on the ride in 2017 (which, this time, definitely did happen), and I remember being surprised that nobody had mentioned the ‘other’ fatality from the 1990s (although some minor incidents between 2011 and 2013 were mentioned).

Is it possible that the accident I described did in fact happen on a river rapids ride, but it took place at a different theme park? Or was the entire story fabricated? Or was it simply not reported widely enough?

2) An elderly Asian woman on the small railway ride choked to death after the end of her long headscarf dropped onto the track and became trapped underneath the wheels, thus pulling it tightly around her neck.

Thinking about it now, I am not certain whether this story is true – simply because headscarves are typically made of light material (presumably to prevent people from overheating in hot weather), and so would the scarf simply have torn apart before it had a chance to cause a serious injury? Or am I wrong in my analysis?

(*Another non-theme park story I heard around the same time was that Polo Mints caused male impotence, and thus only the coloured variety were considered ‘safe’ to eat; I heard it often enough that I never bought any, just in case, but – according to Google – it was probably just an urban myth)

[EDIT: I've just realised that there was an entire thread dedicated to the 2017 incident: https://towersstreet.com/talk/threads/drayton-manor-park-splash-canyon-incident.4404/ ]

 

[DanJB]

The second accident did I happen, one of the Bryans mentioned it at an RCCGB event shortly after the 2017 rapids death. Unfortunately Google is terrible these days and no matter what I search for won’t show me anything except reports on the 2017 accident.