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Alton Towers incident

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bussnapperwm

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Just heard on the wireless that there has been an incident with the ride known as The Smiler.

Apparently two carriages have collided into each other causing 4 people to have "serious injuries" according to what I heard
 
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Merseysider

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BBC article here.
BBC said:
Four people have been seriously injured in a crash between two carriages on a ride at Alton Towers in Staffordshire.

Sixteen people were on one carriage of the Smiler ride, the other was empty.

The resort said their first aid staff were on the scene and emergency crews were building a platform to help reach those on the ride.

The air ambulance is also in attendance following the collision that happened at 14:09 BST.

Eyewitness Ben Richardson said: "When the second carriage crashed people were screaming and shouting - even after it stopped. Everyone around the park ran over.

"The people looked significantly distressed. It was almost like a car crash, very full on."

'Serious injuries'

Sophie Underwood was also in the park at the time. She said quite a few people were hurt.

"It wasn't very high but it was obviously high enough for them to cause some quite serious injuries to the people that were on the rollercoaster.

"They literally had come back off and round the back of a loop, and straight into another empty coach that had been stuck.

"There was a big crash, and I think there were quite a few people that were angry cos they said that they had told the staff that the coach before had stopped but they hadn't actually called through."

Merlin Entertainment, which runs the resort, said in a statement: "There has been an incident on the Smiler this afternoon involving two carriages coming together on a low section of the track. One of the carriages was empty and the other had 16 guests in.

"The Resort's fully qualified First Responders were on the scene immediately to assist with the evacuation which is ongoing, and the area has been closed to allow for access to emergency services vehicles."

14-loop rollercoaster

The Smiler opened in May 2013 and is billed as the world's first 14-loop rollercoaster.

It holds the official Guinness World Record for most loops in a rollercoaster, according to the Alton Towers website.

The resort claims it features "a series of twisted psychological effects including optical illusions, blinding lights and near misses designed to mess with your mind".

There have been several accidents and incidents involving the £18m ride since it opened in May 2013.

'Left dangling'

A group of 16 journalists were left dangling on it at a steep angle as they tried out the rollercoaster before it opened to the public.

The ride shut for four days in July 2013 after a piece fell off the track, and 48 people had to be rescued.

It closed again in August 2013 for five days due to a "technical issue".

In November 2013 it closed for five days after wheels fell off and hit four people in the front carriage.

The injured people were looked after by park staff and did not need treatment by the ambulance service, a spokeswoman said at the time.

Riders were also left stranded in the air when the ride ground to a halt at the top of a near vertical section 14 months ago.

It its statement Merlin Entertainment added there would be a "full investigation once we have recovered the guests who are our priority."
 

OuterDistant

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Oh dear. The yellow air ambulance has just passed here, heading from the Alton Towers direction towards Stoke, presumably with someone from the park on board.

Not a good day for the Uttoxeter area, with the A50 incident as well :(
 

Merseysider

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The Guardian had a little more to add, and were running a live blog on the incident.
The Guardian said:
Of the 16 people involved in the incident, four have “significant lower limb injuries”, reports the Guardian’s Damian Gayle, who is at the scene.

A senior paramedic who spoke at the earlier press conference added: “Of the other 12 we now believe they will be walking wounded patients and the delay has just been extricating them from the cars.”

Of the four critically injured, two women in their mid twenties have gone to to the Royal Stoke University Hospital and two men have gone to the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire.
Hopefully their injuries aren't life-changing.
 

bussnapperwm

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It seems that ride has a bit of bad luck, what with all the incidents
 

Antman

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It seems this is by far the most serious incident. Eye witnesses were critical of how long it took staff to respond to the emergency.

The park will be closed tomorrow.
 
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HilversumNS

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Eye witnesses were critical of how long it took staff to respond to the emergency.

The reports I've read and seen indicate that staff and the emergency services were there quickly, but due to the location of the cars, it took a while to extract the injured.

The overhead pictures appear to show scaffolding, which is what probably what took time to erect to allow the rescuers to do their job.
 

chris11256

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Rollercoasters are a bit like mini trains. One carriage set shouldn't be allowed into a block if there's a carriage set is already in it. The smiler is split into two sections. So under normal operation the carriage with people should have simply waited at the bottom of the vertical incline. I've read some reports that state that this did happen, and the carriage waited for about 10 minutes before carrying in. However this cannot be confirmed.

The only way to override this safety feature is with an engineer key. Normal ride operators don't have the authority to do it.

There's either been a serious technical failure, or massive human error.
 

rdeez

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Rollercoasters are a bit like mini trains. One carriage set shouldn't be allowed into a block if there's a carriage set is already in it. The smiler is split into two sections. So under normal operation the carriage with people should have simply waited at the bottom of the vertical incline. I've read some reports that state that this did happen, and the carriage waited for about 10 minutes before carrying in. However this cannot be confirmed.

The only way to override this safety feature is with an engineer key. Normal ride operators don't have the authority to do it.

There's either been a serious technical failure, or massive human error.

The fact that the occupied carriage stopped and waited before the collision suggests to me (though this is obviously entirely speculative) that human intervention may be the more likely explanation.

Smiler has a 'manual' mode (as alluded to in chris11256's post) that allows movement of carriages between sections to be controlled by the operator instead of automatically by the computer. It's been reported (though not confirmed) that the ride was in manual mode at the time following earlier technical difficulties. This opens up a number of possibilities for where things may have gone wrong - ordering the movement of the wrong carriage is one, or simply a mistaken belief that the section was clear.

Of course, this could all be entirely unrelated and/or unfounded and it could be something purely technical instead. If it does turn out to be technical, Alton Towers really need to consider the future of the ride IMO, given its troubled past. The faults may be distinct and unrelated but it seems pretty obvious that there have been some considerable flaws in the design. I wouldn't want to be on the coaster when the next one surfaces. :|
 

chris11256

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There's a new Guardian article about the crash. Link
It's looking more and more like human error. Especially if its true that the ride was in manual mode at the time.
 

Merseysider

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The Telegraph has new information:
The Telegraph said:
Health and Safety Executive probe into accident that left four seriously hurt after 16 people trapped on 50mph Smiler ride

Alton Towers theme park could remain closed for days while an investigation continues into a "dreadful" rollercoaster accident that seriously injured four people and reportedly resulted in one victim losing a leg.

Two carriages on the 50mph The Smiler ride crashed on a low section of the track on Tuesday afternoon, leaving some passengers trapped 25ft in the air for four-and-a-half hours.

A full investigation involving the Health and Safety Executive is under way, but park bosses have refused to put a time-frame on when the Staffordshire resort will reopen.

Two men aged 27 and 18, a woman aged 19 and a 17-year-old girl suffered serious leg injuries in the crash in which the carriage collided with an empty one stationary in front. One of the victims is understood to have lost a leg, it has been reported.

The other 12 occupants - six men and six women - required medical treatment, including a man in his 20s who suffered neck and abdominal injuries.
 

TheEdge

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It seems that ride has a bit of bad luck, what with all the incidents

I think the ride is fairly doomed. I could see Alton Towers having to cut their losses with it and pull it down with this on its record as well now.

Shame, The Black Hole was a really good ride.
 

Merseysider

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I think the ride is fairly doomed. I could see Alton Towers having to cut their losses with it and pull it down with this on its record as well now.

Shame, The Black Hole was a really good ride.
There would certainly be a lower number of people willing to use the ride after this incident.

I have great disdain for this compensation culture we live in but if negligence is proven I honestly hope Alton Towers/Merlin/whoever agree to pay money for any care or facilities the victims need as a result of these injuries, and then some.
 

Johnuk123

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I think the ride is fairly doomed. I could see Alton Towers having to cut their losses with it and pull it down with this on its record as well now.

Shame, The Black Hole was a really good ride.

Doubt that will happen, and I also doubt that the type of people who like these rides will care one jot about this accident in fact it will probably become even more popular.
 

AM9

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There would certainly be a lower number of people willing to use the ride after this incident.

I have great disdain for this compensation culture we live in but if negligence is proven I honestly hope Alton Towers/Merlin/whoever agree to pay money for any care or facilities the victims need as a result of these injuries, and then some.

Given that the passengers of the ride could do nothing to avoid the incident and they have sustained 'serious injuries', then compensation is inevitable form the operators/designers/manufacturers and that has nothing to do with any 'compensation culture' whatever that really is if it exists.
 

Merseysider

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Given that the passengers of the ride could do nothing to avoid the incident and they have sustained 'serious injuries', then compensation is inevitable form the operators/designers/manufacturers and that has nothing to do with any 'compensation culture' whatever that really is if it exists.
By 'compensation culture' I was referring to the endless stream of 'have you had an injury that wasn't your fault' adverts on television, cold calls, and people thinking they can get something for nothing, eg whiplash scams.

My point, which may have not been clear, was that in comparison, this is a case where compensation is most certainly due.

One legal firm approached the incident rather distastefully (link)
 
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Crossover

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Just heard the park will be shut again tomorrow. It was mentioned on the news in Radio 2 this morning where it was reported a number (a couple IIRC) of riders suffered life changing leg injuries :(
 

Harlan Cage

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Human error being mooted on some news reports with first empty test having not cleared the ride before the first passenger one commenced it's journey.
 

Merseysider

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Just heard the park will be shut again tomorrow. It was mentioned on the news in Radio 2 this morning where it was reported a number (a couple IIRC) of riders suffered life changing leg injuries :(
How tragic :(

That could have been any one of us on the forum, or any of our mates or family, had fate chosen us. And I know several forumites live relatively close-by to the park.

Me and my friends were planning a trip to Blackpool pleasure beach but we've decided against it. Thinking about the event makes me feel quite nauseous tbh. But I do hope this kind if incident doesn't have a negative lasting effect on the fun park & rides industry.
 

dosxuk

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Human error being mooted on some news reports with first empty test having not cleared the ride before the first passenger one commenced it's journey.

It's normal for trains to be sent out before the previous one has completed the entire ride - there are multiple blocks along the track specifically to allow this. In normal operation there are at least three trains out on the ride at any one time.

The issue isn't that a train was dispatched while one was out on the ride, but that two trains came to be in the same block.
 

Bletchleyite

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Me and my friends were planning a trip to Blackpool pleasure beach but we've decided against it. Thinking about the event makes me feel quite nauseous tbh. But I do hope this kind if incident doesn't have a negative lasting effect on the fun park & rides industry.

To keep it in perspective, by calling off the trip you have reduced the comparatively high chance of being killed or injured in a car crash, or if you planned to take the train being killed or injured as a pedestrian. This is the first roller coaster incident in the UK in years that has involved very serious injuries, if I recall.
 

Johnuk123

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Me and my friends were planning a trip to Blackpool pleasure beach but we've decided against it. Thinking about the event makes me feel quite nauseous tbh.

Somewhat overreacting to say the least.
 

Searle

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Doubt that will happen, and I also doubt that the type of people who like these rides will care one jot about this accident in fact it will probably become even more popular.

Highly doubt it would because even more popular, I certainly wouldn't want to ride it now, and I'm quite into rollercoasters. There are so many other rides in Alton Towers, so I would be fine going on others for the day.

Somewhat overreacting to say the least.

Sounds fair to me!
 

EssexGonzo

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Somewhat overreacting to say the least.

Agree.

When this ride re-opens (and indeed the whole park) I would struggle to think of a safer place in the UK to go on a roller coaster given the attention its now receiving. It's often tough to realise at the time, but good does come out of tragedy sometimes.
 

Bletchleyite

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I must admit to being very surprised the whole park (rather than one ride) is closed, but their other parks (which must surely be built and run to the same kinds of specification and procedures) are not.

On an aside there are perhaps design lessons there for the "crashworthiness" of rides, i.e. to avoid leg injuries as happened here?
 

Merseysider

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it will probably become even more popular.
Yeah right :roll: :lol:
Johnuk123 said:
Somewhat overreacting to say the least.
Oh, you must have misunderstood. Please don't get me wrong, not for one minute do any of us believe something like this would happen to us. We recognise the chance of such an injury is miniscule. The simple reason is that we wouldn't enjoy it as much; there'd be a shadow hanging over it until we knew the people concerned were going to pull through. It isn't that we're not going out of fear we'll die. We're not going because some of us wouldn't be able to go on a rollercoaster without constantly being reminded of the people in hospital. The mood would be rather flat.

Do you think it's an overreaction to have passing nausea about someone my age being potentially crippled for life through no fault of his own?
 

ainsworth74

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I assume that whilst Roller Coasters are generally on rails of some description they are not within the purview of the RAIB to investigate?
 
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