Incidents at European parks

This is a summary of notable incidents that have taken place at various European amusement parks, water parks, or theme parks. This list is not intended to be a comprehensive list of every such event, but only those that have a significant impact on the parks or park operations, or are otherwise significantly newsworthy.

The term "incidents" refers to major accidents, injuries, or deaths that occur at a European park. While these incidents were required to be reported to regulatory authorities due to where they occurred, they usually fall into one of the following categories:
*Caused by negligence on the part of the guest. This can be refusal to follow specific ride safety instructions, or deliberate intent to break park rules.
*The result of a guest's known or unknown health issues.
*Negligence on the part of the park, either by ride operator or maintenance.
*Act of God or a generic accident (eg slipping and falling), that is not a direct result of an action on anybody's part.

Legoland

*On April 29th, 2007, a 21-year-old park employee was killed by a ride vehicle on "The Xtreme Racer", a roller coaster at the Billund, Denmark park, as she climbed over a security fence to retrieve a guest's wallet. [cite news
url = http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,269254,00.html
title = Legoland Employee Dies After Being Hit by Roller Coaster
publisher = AP
date = 2007-04-30
accessdate = 2008-09-08]

Liseberg

* In 1985 two empty rollercoaster trains collide at Liseberg, causing injuries to staff members. [http://www.gp.se/gp/jsp/Crosslink.jsp?d=113&a=300806 Tivoliolyckor i Sverige] sv icon, Göteborgsposten, October 8, 2006.]

* In 2005 a power failure affects western Sweden, causing all the attractions at Liseberg to stop, leaving people stranded in various positions but causing no injuries.
* On July 15, 2006, 21 people were injured at Liseberg when two roller coaster trains, on the rollercoaster Lisebergbanan, collided. The crash happened when the chain that pulls trains up the initial climb malfunctioned, causing a fully loaded train to roll backward into the loading platform, hitting another train that was unloading riders. Since only part of the train was on the lift, the anti-rollback mechanism had not fully engaged and broke. The steel rollercoaster was built in 1987 and is one of Sweden's largest, reaching speeds up to 80 km/h. [ [http://www.thelocal.se/article.php?ID=4338&date=20060715 21 injured in Liseberg rollercoaster crash] en icon, The Local, July 15, 2006.] Since the accident the rollercoaster has opened again, after a technical adjustment.
* On September 2, 2006, a man received injuries to his head and neck after being hit when a flagpole fell down. [http://www.thelocal.se/article.php?ID=5152&date=20061008&PHPSESSID=930b1d49aa373109479c8aa21d475cc4 Woman seriously injured in Liseberg accident] en icon, The Local, October 8, 2006.]
* On October 8, 2006, a woman in her thirties was seriously injured on the log boat ride "FlumeRide". At the second and final drop, a 14 metre slope, the woman apparently panicked, and tried to keep the log boat from travelling down the slope by holding on to the railings. She was ejected from the boat into the water and slid down the slope, where she was hit in the head by at least one of the two following log boats. Since she had managed to temporarily keep the log boat from dropping down the slope, the following two log boats passed the last safety gate, and couldn't be stopped from falling down the last slope where the woman was located. The event was witnessed by the staff who stopped the ride, but were unable to prevent two of the log boats from continuing. The woman, who was travelling together with her 11-year-old daughter and another woman, was taken to Sahlgrenska University Hospital, where she was reported to be in critical but stable condition. An investigation has been initiated by the authorities, and Liseberg has also initiated an internal inquiry. [ [http://www.gp.se/gp/jsp/Crosslink.jsp?d=113&a=300801 Kvinna svårt skallskadad i Flumeride på Liseberg] sv icon, Göteborgsposten, October 9, 2006.] [ [http://www.liseberg.se/Liseberg/Svenska/Liseberg+Island/lisebergparken/MER+OM+LISEBERG/Press/PRESSINFO/FLUMEOLYCKA.htm Kvinna skadad i FlumeRide] sv icon, Liseberg Press release, October 8, 2006.] She eventually recovered fully.

Rainbow

*On July 15, 2008, 30 people were injured when the ride collapsed. The park manager stated that he believes a ball bearing on the ride failed. [cite news
url = http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/07/15/sweden.accident.ap/index.html?eref=rss_topstories
title = Swedish theme park collapse injures 30
publisher = CNN
date = 2008-07-15
accessdate = 2008-07-15]

Hangover

* In 1997 25 young people are trapped for three hours when the ride "Hangover" at Liseberg malfunctions.

Kållerado

* In 2001 a 14-year old boy is pinned between a raft and a landing on the ride "Kållerado" at Liseberg.

Little Frogs

* In 2002 six small children receive minor injuries when a safety latch fails on the attraction "the little frogs" ( _sv. Små grodorna) at Liseberg.

Pleasure Beach Blackpool

Pepsi Max Big One

On August 31, 2000, 23 people were injured, when two ride vehicles collided due to a failure of the ride's braking system. Of those injured, 21 were taken to the hospital.cite news
url = http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article259310.ece
title = 23 injured as roller coaster carriages collide
publisher = The Independent
date = 2000-09-01
accessdate = 2007-01-05]

pace Invader

On July 21, 2000, an 11-year-old boy died after he fell out of the ride vehicle. Reports say that he panicked on the dark ride and unfastened his seatbelt. [cite news
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/858418.stm
title = Four hurt in fairground fall
publisher = BBC News
date = 2000-07-30
accessdate = 2007-01-30]

Oakwood Theme Park

Hydro

* On April 16, 2004, a 16-year-old girl from Pontypool, was killed after falling approximately 30m (100 ft) from the top of the Hydro ride. [cite news
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/3629943.stm
title = Girl dies in 100ft rollercoaster fall
publisher = BBC Wales News
date = 2004-04-16
accessdate = 2007-08-29] During a trial brought by the victim's family against Oakwood, a jury returned a narrative verdict stating that the victim died due to not being properly restrained. [cite news
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/4997970.stm
title = Family unhappy after ride inquest
publisher = BBC Wales News
date = 2006-05-19
accessdate = 2007-08-29] In February 2008, Oakwood was charged by the Health and Safety Executive for park staff not ensuring that guests were properly and safely restrained.cite web
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_west/7258948.stm
title=Oakwood charged over ride death
publisher=BBC News
year=2006
accessdate=2008-02-25] On May 22nd 2008, magistrates in Haverfordwest magistrates court rejected Oakwood Leisure Limited's request for an adjournment and directed that the hearing should proceed on the assumption of a not guilty plea. The magistrates declined jurisdiction and adjourned the case which was committed for crown court trial in Swansea Crown Court on July 7th 2008. cite web
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_west/7414868.stm
title=Trial over theme park ride death
publisher=BBC News
year=2008
accessdate=2008-06-16] The magistrates' court was limited to fining the company £20,000, the crown court can impose an unlimited fine. cite web
url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/feb/23/wales
title=Theme park faces safety charges over girl's death on water ride
publisher=The Guardian
accessdate=2008-06-16] On July 8, 2008, Oakwood plead guilty under the Health and Safety Act 1974 for failing to conduct it's business such to ensure that its guests were not exposed to risks, and will face sentencing. [cite news
url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2008/07/08/oakwood-guilty-of-safety-failings-over-girl-s-death-91466-21300758/
title=Oakwood guilty of safety failings over girl’s death
publisher=Western Mail
Author=Robin Turner
date=2008-07-08
accessdate=2008-07-09]

Tivoli Friheden

Cobra

* On July 4, 2008, four unidentified people were injured while riding the Cobra coaster. The ride vehicle broke in two, with the front part of the train falling to the ground. [cite news
url = http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gbLbWDEzD0FYQlQ3jWAfBDzmD1Cw
title = Four injured in accident at Danish fairground
publisher = AFP
date = 2008-07-04
accessdate = 2008-07-07]

References