Originally published on 02 June, 2015
Four people were seriously hurt on Tuesday after an accident at Britain’s Alton Towers amusement park, according to the BBC.
West Midlands Ambulance Service said the four teens, two girls and two boys, were trapped on the Smiler ride, about 25 feet (7.6 meters) above the ground.
An Alton Towers spokeswoman told reporters the cause of the two carriage collision is believed to have been a mechanical error.
The Smiler rollercoaster released an empty cab at around 2 p.m., then shortly after a 16 passenger cab was cleared to go.
The mechanical error automatically triggered a failsafe stop, which enabled the empty carriage to stop along the bottom of a loop, according to the BBC, which cited the spokeswoman.
"When the second carriage crashed people were screaming and shouting, even after it stopped,” eyewitness Ben Richardson told the BBC. “Everyone around the park ran over.”
The Smiler, opened in 2013 and is the world’s first roller coaster with 14 loops. It has a maximum speed of 52 mph and its highest drop is roughly 98 feet (30 meters).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Next Animation Studio’s News Direct service provides daily, high-quality, informative 3D animated news graphics that fill in for missing footage and help viewers understand breaking news stories or in-depth features on science, technology, and health.
To subscribe to News Direct or for more info, please visit:
[ Ссылка ]
