Alton Towers Closed After Rollercoaster Crash

Alton Towers theme park will remain closed on Wednesday as an investigation takes place into an incident on a rollercoaster in which four people were seriously injured and left stranded for hours along with a dozen other passengers.

The accident occurred at around 2pm on Tuesday when a carriage carrying 16 passengers collided with an empty one on a low section of the track of the Smiler ride, which can reach speeds of up to 50mph.

Passengers were left trapped more than 20 feet from the ground at an angle of about 45 degrees before they were eventually freed by emergency workers and stretchered away. Some of the passengers were said to have sustained life changing injuries.

The incident is the most serious to happen at the 35-year-old Staffordshire resort, one of Britain’s leading tourist attractions, which attracts around three million visitors each year.

The injured included two men aged 27 and 18 and two women aged 19 and 17 who suffered serious leg injuries in the crash. The other 12 occupants – six men and six women – required triage.

Danny Simm, a musician and songwriter who witnessed the aftermath of the accident, said on Twitter: “People unconscious, knocked out. Blood everywhere. It really was shocking.”

Sophie Underwood, who was waiting to board the ride, told the BBC: “They had made quite a few announcements to say there were technical difficulties. They were sending coaches around with nobody on them. And then they said they had sorted it out so they decided to put people on the coach.”

Those who suffered critical injuries were airlifted to major trauma centres.

A West Midlands ambulance service spokeswoman said: “All four were given advanced trauma care, pain relief and immobilisation and were each carefully extricated from the ride and on to the platform before being lowered to the ground.

“The 27-year-old male was then airlifted to University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire whilst the others were flown to Royal Stoke University Hospital for further emergency treatment.

“The remaining 12 occupants, six women and six men, suffered less serious injuries. They were released one at a time over a time period of four hours and lowered to the ground in order for a further assessment of their condition.

“One of the 12, a male in his 20s, was treated for neck and abdominal injury and was taken to the Royal Stoke University Hospital by land ambulance for further assessment and treatment.”

The 16 occupants’ ordeal lasted over four hours, with their evacuation taking until until 6.35pm.

Ian Crabbe, Alton Towers divisional director, admitted to reporters that he had not been alerted to issues that the Smiler reportedly suffered earlier in the day.

He told reporters: “This ride has had its issues to start with, which is fairly normal for a big rollercoaster.

“I think it would be unfair to reflect on those issues, which were originally part of the ride when we first opened it, and say they are connected to this incident, which I don’t believe they are.”

The incident is not the first involving the Smiler, which has been closed on two occasions because of safety concerns since opening two years ago.

The ride, which features a world record-breaking 14 loops, was closed in July 2013 after reports that a bolt was seen to have fallen from the ride and in November that year was closed after plastic guard wheels came loose and hit front-row riders.

During a previous scare, 16 journalists were left stranded on the Smiler for around 30 minutes during a preview ride before it opened to the public in May 2013.

A full investigation with the involvement of the Health and Safety Executive was last night underway at the park, whose owner was experiencing drops in its share price.

Dorset-based Merlin Entertainments, which has run Alton Towers since buying out previous owner the Tussauds Group in May 2007, was the biggest faller on the FTSE 100, with its shares down 3%.

Nick Varney, chief executive of Merlin Entertainments said: “This has been a terrible incident and a devastating day for everyone here.

Extending an apology to everyone who suffered injury and distress, he added: “The safety of our visitors is our primary concern. The park will remain closed until we understand better the cause of this dreadful incident.”

An Alton Towers spokeswoman said that the park hopes to open again on Thursday and customers with tickets for Wednesday could seek a revalidation or a refund through the park’s website.

-theguardian