Amusements Worldwide

Organiser says incident one-off after girls hurt on ride News - Yahoo!Xtra News

Link: Organiser says incident one-off after girls hurt on ride News - Yahoo!Xtra News.

The organiser of Gisborne's A&P show, where five girls were hurt on a malfunctioning ride this this morning, says he would not have engaged any risky operators. The girls, aged between seven and 12, were taken to Gisborne Hospital after the Explorer joy ride, billed as New Zealand's fastest ride, malfunctioned. Four of the girls were treated for minor to moderate back and limb injuries. A 10-year-old girl was to remain in Gisborne Hospital for observation. Many children were battered and bruised as they staggered from the fully loaded machine, owned by Mahon's Amusements, the Gisborne Herald reported. "How those kids managed to stay on the ride I don't know. They were getting flung around like ragdolls," one mother said. Show organiser Derek Allan said the children were all fine, and some had returned to the show today. "The mother of the young girl who they had most concern for has told me that she's come away with a bruised elbow and a cut lip," Mr Allan told Radio New Zealand . "She's at home, but I've seen two of the other girls back at the show, they just couldn't wait to get back here." The parents had told him they saw the accident as something that could not have been predicted. He was not present when the accident happen

a rough ride for Carousel

Link: It&squo;s a rough ride for Grand Carosel | The Courier-Mail.

WELL, I for one hope Queensland Premier Anna Bligh is unsuccessful in her efforts to overturn the very sensible decision to ban the Grand Carousel from this year's Royal National Show.

For quite some time now I have been very concerned about my four-year-old going on this 120-year-old merry-go-round which traverses the country's fairs and shows, using its gaudy colours and happy-go-lucky theme tune to entice innocent children into its gaping jaws of death.

That is why I was very pleased when a crack Workplace Health and Safety operative pulled the plug on the Grand Carousel for this year's show, after he observed a primary school-aged child on the ride who appeared unsteady in the saddle.

Well, of course the little darling appeared unsteady in the saddle - I mean there he was, whizzing around and around at the death-defying speed of 2km an hour, desperately trying to cling on to the giant stallion moving at an equally breakneck speed beneath him. It doesn't even bear thinking about, does it?

No, and don't get me started on the possible high-lead paint content of that particular ride, or the very real threat of large splinters.

Faulty drive shaft blamed for Swedish amusement park accident : Europe World

Link: Faulty drive shaft blamed for Swedish amusement park accident : Europe World.

A faulty drive shaft was being blamed Monday for last week's accident at an amusement park in the south-western city of Gothenburg that saw 30 people taken to hospital after a ride collapsed. In all, 36 people were on the ride when it broke at the Liseberg amusement park in the coastal city on Tuesday. Two people sustained pelvic injuries. The faulty drive shaft was detected when the ride was dismantled over the weekend. Constructed in 1983, the ride has a capacity of 40. A statement issued by the amusement park said the shaft was made by Huss Maschinenfabrik of Germany and had been replaced in 2003. It was fully enclosed and therefore not included in the park's regular service routine. The drive shaft had an operational life of 5,000 hours and according to Liseberg had been in operation for some 3,500 hours at the time of the accident. The maker said it would stop further operations of the some 40 rides worldwide that use the shaft, the Liseberg statement said. The amusement park is the largest in Scandinavia with some 30 rides.

Coaster terror at Alton Towers - Mirror.co.uk

Link: Coaster terror at Alton Towers - Mirror.co.uk.

Sixteen thrill-seekers were left suspended 150ft high yesterday when the terrifying Oblivion ride at Alton Towers was brought to a shuddering halt. Rescuers at the theme park took more than an hour to free them from the whiteknuckle attraction after an electrical fault. The group was stuck in a carriage near the roller-coaster's huge vertical drop into a "black hole" and they had to be attached to a harness one-by-one before being led to safety down a stairway. A witness said: "One lady was holding on to the rails, frozen in fear." Advertisement A spokeswoman for the Staffordshire park said the ride was shut down by computer as soon as it detected the fault. It was up and running again soon after.

Six people hurt in carousel collapse in Minsk | BELARUS NEWS

Link: Six people hurt in carousel collapse in Minsk | BELARUS NEWS.

Six people, including a few children, suffered injuries as a carousel collapsed at an amusement park in Minsk on July 7. The accident happened at Chalyuskintsaw Park, a spokesman for the interior ministry told BelaPAN. All of the people were taken to hospital and five had been discharged by Tuesday morning. A seven-year-old boy is in serious condition and is receiving treatment at the Children’s Surgery Center, Vital Navitski, spokesman for the emergency management ministry, told BelaPAN. The amusement ride was recognized as safe during a technical examination this past April. The cause of the accident has yet to be established.

Oakwood theme park admits health and safety breach over death - Telegraph

Link: Oakwood theme park admits health and safety breach over death - Telegraph.

A company running a theme park where a teenager plunged 100ft to her death from a white knuckle ride admitted a fatal health and safety breach today.

Accident at Tivoli

Link: The Copenhagen Post.

An amusement park arms race that has seen the size and speed of rides on a constant incline over the past several years is likely to slow after four people were injured on Friday at the Tivioli Friheden park in Århus. Investigators say that the four people, all in their 20s, were lucky not to have been killed when their car plummeted 20 metres after a faulty axel caused it to come loose from the park's newly opened 'Cobra' ride. According to hospital reports, one of the injured suffered a compound fracture of the leg, while another severely injured her foot. A third person suffered neck and back injuries. Although the injuries were described as 'severe', none of them are permanent. At 25 metres, 'Cobra' is Denmark's highest roller coaster. According to Tivoli Friheden, it is also the country's 'wildest'. Tivoli Friheden has managed to stop a decline in the number of visitors over the past four years, and the park's management had hoped the introduction of the new suspended coaster - in which the cars hang from an overhead track - would help it sustain the growth. 'Cobra' has been closed while investigators try to determine why the axle broke. Despite its short life, the roller coaster has long history of trouble and technicians from Italian producer Sac Sartori were reportedly making adjustments just hours before the accident. But the park said neither Friday's adjustments, nor t

Teenager Decapitated By Theme Park Ride | WOAI.COM: San Antonio News

Link: Teenager Decapitated By Theme Park Ride | WOAI.COM: San Antonio News.

A teenager is dead after being decapitated by a roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia. Six Flags officials say the 17-year-old climbed a pair of six-foot fences and entered a restricted are around the Batman ride at the theme park. Officials say there are several “Do Not Enter” and “Danger” signs posted around the ride. Witnesses claim the teen, and another boy, were trying to get a hat he’d lost while riding the roller coaster. He was at the theme park with his family as part of trip with their church. Park officials say the ride was going at its maximum speed, 50 miles per hour, when it hit the teenager. No one on the ride was hurt. Security guards were called in to keep other park guests away from the ride.

IOL: Thrill-seekers at risk

Link: IOL: Thrill-seekers at risk.

Poor levels of inspection and the lack of thorough safety standards are putting thrill-seekers at risk on fun rides in amusement parks across South Africa, says an expert. Engineer Roelf Mostert said South Africa lagged behind the rest of the world in ensuring rigorous checks on its rides. He was commenting after the recent collapse of the Crazy Wave swing at the Chariots indoor entertainment centre at Emperors Palace casino in Kempton Park.

Amusement park to demolish roller coaster after deadly crash, reopen by next year - Mainichi Daily News

Link: Amusement park to demolish roller coaster after deadly crash, reopen by next year - Mainichi Daily News.

An amusement park where a woman died in a roller coaster accident last year has announced that it will reopen before spring in 2009. The Expoland amusement park in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, has been closed since December after the number of visitors plummeted following the deadly derailment of its "Fujin Raijin II" roller coaster in May last year, in which a 19-year-old female passenger was killed. The operator of the amusement park announced on Tuesday that the park will be reopened before spring next year, and that the demolition of the roller coaster where the fatal accident occurred started on Wednesday. Four other attractions will also be subject to demolition, the operator said. The operator said it hasn't decided what kind of replacement attractions it will install in the park. After a temporary shutdown following the derailment accident in May last year, the amusement park reopened in August, but a problem involving another machine occurred in mid-September. As a result, the number of visitors to the park declined to about 20 percent of the figure recorded the previous year. In December, Osaka Prefectural Police sent papers to prosecutors accusing the operator of the amusement park and its former executives of professional negligence resulting in death and injury, and violating th