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Three more rollercoasters closed at parks run by Alton Towers owner Three more rollercoasters shut down at parks run by Alton Towers owner
(about 1 hour later)
The owner of Alton Towers resort has closed three more rollercoasters at two other theme parks following Tuesday’s crash that left four people seriously injured. A rollercoaster crash at Alton Towers has triggered the closure of three more rides at two other theme parks as it emerged one of the most seriously injured victims is in a “critical condition”.
Saw, a ride at Thorpe Park in Surrey, themed around the horror-film franchise, has been closed for the “foreseeable future” until overhauled safety rules are brought in, Merlin Entertainments said. Four riders were taken to hospital on Tuesday with serious leg injuries after a carriage full of passengers collided at speed with a test car that had come to a halt on the £18m Smiler ride at Alton Towers.
Two further rollercoaster rides, Dragon’s Fury and Rattlesnake at Chessington World of Adventures, in Surrey, which is also owned by Merlin, have been shut down. Vicky Balch, from Leyland, Lancashire, was in the front row of the rollercoaster when it crashed. The 19-year-old was in a critical condition after the “life-changing disaster”, solicitors representing her family said.
Four riders were airlifted to hospital on Tuesday when a carriage full of passengers collided at speed with a test car that had come to a halt on the £18m Smiler ride at Alton Towers, which will also remain closed. Health and safety investigators have handed the Staffordshire-based theme park a prohibition notice – a legally enforced ban – on operating the Smiler until action is taken to deal with the cause of its failure.
Related: Alton Towers crash victim has collapsed lung and fractured leg The 14-loop rollercoaster and the Saw ride at Thorpe Park in Surrey have been closed for the “foreseeable future” until overhauled safety rules are brought in. The Dragon’s Fury and Rattlesnake rollercoasters at Chessington World of Adventures, in Surrey, have also been shut down.
Merlin Entertainments, which owns all three theme parks, said it took the decision after Tuesday’s collision, which left riders suspended 8 metres (25ft) in the air at a 45-degree angle for several hours.
Merlin’s chief executive, Nick Varney, said: “It is an accident that should not have happened, and we are determined that it will never happen again.Merlin’s chief executive, Nick Varney, said: “It is an accident that should not have happened, and we are determined that it will never happen again.
“Whilst the investigation into the causes is continuing, we have identified a series of additional safety protocols that we are implementing immediately across our multi-car rollercoasters.” “Whilst the investigation into the causes is continuing, we have identified a series of additional safety protocols that we are implementing immediately across our multi-car rollercoasters.
More details soon ... “These will act as an additional safeguard to further strengthen our operating and safety standards. This has been a devastating experience, and we are committed to learning the lessons from it.”
Daniel Thorpe, 27, a hotel assistant manager from Buxton in Derbyshire, textile design student Joe Pugh, 18, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire and his girlfriend, Leah Washington, 17, have been named as the other three of the four most seriously injured in the crash.
Paul Paxton, a partner at Stewarts Law who is representing the Balch’s family, said: “Whilst it is anticipated that there will be a substantial claim for damages to support Victoria in her recovery, the main focus at present for the family is Victoria’s wellbeing and ensuring that the investigation into the accident is carried out swiftly and vigorously.
“They have every confidence in the police and the Health and Safety Executive. It is expected that serious consideration will be given to criminal prosecutions. The family are distraught that a fun day out could turn into such a potentially life-changing disaster.”
Both the Smiler and Saw, the latter of which is themed around the horror-film franchise, were manufactured by Gerstlauer. The German firm also built the trains for a rollercoaster at the Six Flags Over Texas amusement park in Texas from which a woman fell to her death in 2013.
Alton Towers, which remained closed on Friday, is reportedly losing around £500,000 a day until the park reopens.
Related: Alton Towers crash victim has collapsed lung and fractured leg
The HSE, which was removing the crashed carriages on Friday and transporting them to a laboratory in Buxton, Derbyshire, served the prohibition notice on the Smiler.
Neil Craig, HSE’s head of operations for the Midlands, said: “HSE expects the park operator to apply any early learning from the incident to wider risk management at the site. The decision about when to reopen the park is for the owners to make.”
A senior accident investigator has said the HSE inquiry could last up to two years but would establish within weeks whether a criminal negligence prosecution should take place.
John Cox, a former HSE advisory committee chair, said Alton Towers staff would be questioned and documents seized, including the rollercoaster’s design dossier, as well as maintenance and safety records.
“They are the prosecuting authority so at the very, very beginning they have to lock down the case and secure the scene so that evidence isn’t lost, in the same way police would do with a crime,” he said.