ROLLERCOASTER CRASH AT ALTON TOWERS! PPL SERIOUSLY INJURED

[lemons]

http://news.sky.com/story/1494944/carriages-crash-on-alton-towers-smiler-ride

Four people have been seriously injured after two carriages on The Smiler rollercoaster at Alton Towers collided.

According to the West Midlands Ambulance Service, there were 16 people riding in one carriage on the attraction when the crash happened just after 2pm.

It is believed the passengers crashed into a stationary carriage which was empty at the time.

Danny Simm, who was at the Staffordshire theme park when the accident happened, tweeted: "People unconscious, knocked out. Blood everywhere. It really was shocking. Air ambulances landing now, people still stuck."

Lloyd Coller, who was visiting Alton Towers for the day, told Sky News: "I didn’t actually see it but I heard it. It sounded exactly like a car crash – just metal on metal."

http://media.skynews.com/media/images/generated/2015/6/2/396551/default/v1/10517196-1-1-480x360.jpg

Another witness, Tom Whelton, said that The Smiler had also broken down three hours earlier following technical difficulties.

An air ambulance has arrived at the scene with a trauma doctor on board, and everyone on board the ride is receiving triage.

Four road ambulances, accompanied by senior paramedic managers, have also arrived on the scene to cope with the potential casualties.

A spokeswoman added: "Ambulance staff and medics are working quickly with resort staff to gain access to the seriously injured."

In a statement, Alton Towers said: "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.

"To ensure the safe and timely evacuation of guests, a platform is being constructed. This will take a few minutes but will enable us to proceed more quickly.

[Absently]

jesus this article seems a lot scarier than the one i read!!! this is so sad if it's really that bad :(

[lemons]

from twitter, looks like the boy on right has blood on his face

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CGgL2raUIAElkRn.jpg

[Kyle]

That bloody smiler's always playing up, it used to stop dead with people on it like once a week. Only lasts like a minute anyway, might as well leave with some scars.

[Joe]

How awful, few people on my snapchat have gone to Alton Towers today, hope the people are ok :(

[lemons]

video

605757258409099264

[lemons]

longer video just after the collision! swearing


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVvVI9PLoOc

[Earthquake]

Absolutely crazy, and I hope they get a massive payout!

[Misawa]

"Skootay" is one of my best mates. He rode the coaster just before this happened. So glad he's okay.

[Samantha]

It hasn't been confirmed, but apparently one of them has lost a leg.

[Empired]

It hasn't been confirmed, but apparently one of them has lost a leg.
Jesus christ, I hope that isn't true. It's much more serious than I thought if that's the case.

[Earthquake]

Read that a leg was amputated
:(

[Absently]

Oh my god that's actually so awful :( how heartbreaking!! Just a nice day out and waiting I'm a massive queue to get on a ride for that to happen

[Earthquake]

The pay out for those who haven't suffered severly will cheer them up. 640 million gpb wiped from shares when this happened!

[GommeInc]

It makes you wonder why this ride is even still going. I don't recall it ever being that successful or worth the ride. It breaks down too much and has always been an "accident waiting to happen".

EDIT: N.B. Don't like rollercoasters at all so never ridden, but this is just all I've ever really heard from it.

[Earthquake]

When this ride first opened I read that journalists had to be rescued while riding it

..

[GommeInc]

When this ride first opened I read that journalists had to be rescued while riding it

..
I heard that too - it sounded like it was dreadful right from the start. It's strange as Alton Towers usually have a decent track (ha) record when it comes to 'coasters.

[lawrawrrr]

It's had quite a few issues since it opened but a lot of big coasters have too...the press event was the big one cos obviously it doesn't give a good impression, and then within the first 3 months it had 3 or 4 further issues, IIRC. One of them was a bit of the ride falling off but that wasn't on people. Over the last year tho (2014/15, it opened around this time in 2013) I don't think it's had big issues at all?

After some investigation it looks like some people were minorly hurt last April when some wheels came off but pretty much all the other issues have been with the ride itself - which I guess is kind expected on a world first? Estimations & theoretical physics can't account for literally everything, the incidents were only minor things that were quickly corrected!


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[Matt]

This makes me hate rollercoasters even more.

They mentioned it over here but they made it sound like it was only a minor accident and everyone was ok. That's so horrible.

[Empired]

It's had quite a few issues since it opened but a lot of big coasters have too...the press event was the big one cos obviously it doesn't give a good impression, and then within the first 3 months it had 3 or 4 further issues, IIRC. One of them was a bit of the ride falling off but that wasn't on people. Over the last year tho (2014/15, it opened around this time in 2013) I don't think it's had big issues at all?

After some investigation it looks like some people were minorly hurt last April when some wheels came off but pretty much all the other issues have been with the ride itself - which I guess is kind expected on a world first? Estimations & theoretical physics can't account for literally everything, the incidents were only minor things that were quickly corrected!


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But still. Roller coasters go at such a speed that the park should be 100% sure that the ride will not go as wrong as it has here. Obviously there's always going to be human error but if this ride has gone wrong before, I don't see why it's still in business. Just because this is people's lives we're talking about here.

[lawrawrrr]

But still. Roller coasters go at such a speed that the park should be 100% sure that the ride will not go as wrong as it has here. Obviously there's always going to be human error but if this ride has gone wrong before, I don't see why it's still in business. Just because this is people's lives we're talking about here.
Every rollercoaster out there has had some kind of problem in the past! None of the issues have been from the same thing. From what I can see about this one it was stopped on a loop and then they released after, too early?

There was like *just* a technical fault though and there should have been more tests before people were allowed on it though...I still don't really get why there was an empty carriage on the track anyway???

[Earthquake]

I've just read reports that maybe somebody pushed the wrong button and started the cart when it come to a stop when it was upside down.. NOT sounding good

[Empired]

Every rollercoaster out there has had some kind of problem in the past! None of the issues have been from the same thing. From what I can see about this one it was stopped on a loop and then they released after, too early?

There was like *just* a technical fault though and there should have been more tests before people were allowed on it though...I still don't really get why there was an empty carriage on the track anyway???
Yeah I guess. I just don't think there should be any allowance for human error here. And with technical errors the ride should be stopped until someone is 100% sure that it's completely fixed and won't happen again.

[Joe]

"Two men, 27 and 18, a woman, 19, and a girl, 17, have serious leg injuries.
The BBC's Danny Savage said it was understood some of those on the ride sustained "life-changing injuries"."

The life changing injuries scares the hell out of me, I hope they're all okay :(

[GoldenMerc]

jeez, so is there any news articles about the amputated leg?

[lawrawrrr]

jeez, so is there any news articles about the amputated leg?
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/alton-towers-roller-coaster-crash-park-remains-closed-after-devastating-smiler-collision-1504153


Two men, aged 27 and 18, and two women, aged 19 and 17, suffered serious leg injuries following the collision. One person has already had their leg amputated.

[Samantha]

What I've heard is that they were testing the rollercoaster and sent the empty cart, but sent a full one before the other one returned to the station. The empty one then got stuck after the loop and there was a technical error and the full cart shouldn't have gone into the same section as the empty cart as there are blocks in place for that. Unfortunately, that didn't happen and the full cart stopped then started going down again and crashed. However, a crash shouldn't even be possible, although there's always a chance, however small, that it might.

[xxMATTGxx]

http://www.reddit.com/r/Themepark/comments/387vev/breaking_news_smiler_crash/

A guy seems to know his stuff is explaining how the "block" system works on such rides.

Edit: The person is called: KingdaToro

[Joe]

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/alton-towers-roller-coaster-crash-park-remains-closed-after-devastating-smiler-collision-1504153

Oh god that's awful, surely Smiler has to close now?

[lawrawrrr]

Oh god that's awful, surely Smiler has to close now?

People have died on/by some coasters that are still open to this day. It will probably be closed for a period of time while they do safety checks and tests and everything like that, but I don't think it will remain shut. It's not like it's the same problem over and over again, it's been fine for over a year! But yeah, investigation then it'll reopen I reckon.


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[Kardan]

Every rollercoaster out there has had some kind of problem in the past! None of the issues have been from the same thing. From what I can see about this one it was stopped on a loop and then they released after, too early?

There was like *just* a technical fault though and there should have been more tests before people were allowed on it though...I still don't really get why there was an empty carriage on the track anyway???

That's not true.

The reason why people were on the ride is because the rollercoaster operates two cars at once to try and make the queues go down quicker. Tons of other rides do this, and it's totally fine. They sent an empty one as they were restarting the ride for the day as it had been shut down earlier in the day (this is also a fairly common occurance), now as this empty one was released from the station, the second one would have been already starting to fill. As the first one went, they released the second one and it went up the hill climb. Now, the first one never returned to the station, it stalled (meaning it didn't have enough momentum to make a loop, so it got stuck at the bottom of a loop), this of course means that if a second one is released, it will collide into the stalled one - this is what happened. Now, to stop this from happening, the rollercoaster is supposed to detect that the first one didn't complete the course - and it did detect that. So, it kept the train with people on at the top of the hill climb for 10 minutes. This is what it's supposed to do, and I myself have been kept on a hill climb for a few minutes at Alton Towers waiting for the track to be clear.

The problem is, the second train was eventually released after 10 minutes when the track was not clear. The question is, was it a mechanical fault, or did someone manually override it so it was released? Once it was released from the top of the hill climb, their fate was sealed pretty much.

To the people saying 'the rollercoaster should've been closed down way before this because of the issues', no. First of all, many rollercoasters have teething issues in the past, which this rollercoaster has, but rather importantly, none of the issues in the past have caused the crash. The worst incident in the past is that the rollercoaster stopped going up a climb if i remember correctly - heck, if that issue happened yesterday the people on the train would've been better off. Rollercoasters are meant to stop if they are issues, it's a design feature. (Except, it stopped working yesterday).

[Stephen]

from twitter, looks like the boy on right has blood on his face

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CGgL2raUIAElkRn.jpg

i wonder if the bloodied face could be the result of his leg being crushed at such a force that blood splattered upwards

bit like hitting a tomato with a hammer eww +o(

[lemons]

i wonder if the bloodied face could be the result of his leg being crushed at such a force that blood splattered upwards

bit like hitting a tomato with a hammer eww +o(

someone else said it was nose bleed

[GommeInc]

That's not true.

The reason why people were on the ride is because the rollercoaster operates two cars at once to try and make the queues go down quicker. Tons of other rides do this, and it's totally fine. They sent an empty one as they were restarting the ride for the day as it had been shut down earlier in the day (this is also a fairly common occurance), now as this empty one was released from the station, the second one would have been already starting to fill. As the first one went, they released the second one and it went up the hill climb. Now, the first one never returned to the station, it stalled (meaning it didn't have enough momentum to make a loop, so it got stuck at the bottom of a loop), this of course means that if a second one is released, it will collide into the stalled one - this is what happened. Now, to stop this from happening, the rollercoaster is supposed to detect that the first one didn't complete the course - and it did detect that. So, it kept the train with people on at the top of the hill climb for 10 minutes. This is what it's supposed to do, and I myself have been kept on a hill climb for a few minutes at Alton Towers waiting for the track to be clear.

The problem is, the second train was eventually released after 10 minutes when the track was not clear. The question is, was it a mechanical fault, or did someone manually override it so it was released? Once it was released from the top of the hill climb, their fate was sealed pretty much.

To the people saying 'the rollercoaster should've been closed down way before this because of the issues', no. First of all, many rollercoasters have teething issues in the past, which this rollercoaster has, but rather importantly, none of the issues in the past have caused the crash. The worst incident in the past is that the rollercoaster stopped going up a climb if i remember correctly - heck, if that issue happened yesterday the people on the train would've been better off. Rollercoasters are meant to stop if they are issues, it's a design feature. (Except, it stopped working yesterday).
General knowledge or Rollercoaster Tycoon? :P It's the one time that game is good describe what happens - albeit what the mechanics used to do when called to a broken down ride.

It is a bit alarming how many issues this particular ride has had, especially the type of coaster (mangled mess that goes up and over itself) and risk involved (speeds etc). Air has only really left people in super-man poses in the past. No wheels or anything falling off, but then again it isn't mangled up like The Smiler, which makes me wonder why pieces are falling off - surely safety designs should have it so minimal removable parts fall off it?

[RyRy]

Bloody terrible that it's happened, I love rollercoasters and it's not like it's going to stop me going on them... but it's a proper terrible day for those kids, I really hope nobody else has to have their legs amputated or anything like that. I also hope that Alton Towers compensate them fairly for what's happened, as I'm sure they will.

[Misawa]

My friend Scott, who filmed the video that's been all over the news, etc, was a massive theme park fan and has been put off for life by what he saw.

[Earthquake]

My friend Scott, who filmed the video that's been all over the news, etc, was a massive theme park fan and has been put off for life by what he saw.

Poor Scott

And if they continue to have this ride operational after then more foolthem

[lemons]

i think i would be put off for life if i saw it as well! the screaming and blood and everything would be stuck in my mind for a long time

[xxMATTGxx]

Found this on Reddit:

https://i.imgur.com/hzdZBgG.jpg

[Joe]

Found this on Reddit:

https://i.imgur.com/hzdZBgG.jpg

Oh goodness, that's a huge crumple, no wonder there was serious casualties. :(

[xxMATTGxx]

Four rollercoasters at three theme parks have been shut after a crash at Alton Towers in which 16 people were injured, four seriously.

The Smiler, which crashed, and Saw, a similar ride at Thorpe Park, would both be shut "for the foreseeable future", owner Merlin Entertainments said.

Two rides at Chessington World of Adventures have also been closed until new safety protocols have been applied.

Alton Towers said it planned to reopen in the next few days.

Dragon's Fury and Rattlesnake have been closed at the Chessington park in Surrey, while Thorpe Park's Saw - also in Surrey - has been shut since the crash.

Chief executive of Merlin Entertainments Nick Varney said: "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.

"This has been a devastating experience, and we are committed to learning the lessons from it."

A Chessington spokeswoman said its two rides were safe, but staff working on them needed further training before they could be reopened.

She said it was hoped this would take a few days.

Merlin Entertainments said it was issuing an "additional set of safety protocols and procedures that will reinforce the safe operation of our multi-car rollercoasters" which were "effective immediately".

It said it had "a strong safety record at Alton Towers and across the Merlin Group

Source; http://www.habboxforum.com/showthread.php?t=825828&page=4

[GoldenMerc]

Alton towers website now closed.

THIS HAS BECAME SERIOUS

[wixard]

Saw broke down when we were queuing remember buttons;

[lemons]

hmm yes saw also broke down before I got on it and all the lights cut out and everything!

scary mary

[Cody]

That is crazy. Makes me think twice about getting on a roller coaster


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[-:Undertaker:-]

Funny enough I think the two times I tried going on The Smiler it had broken down lol.

And there's some funny jokes about this accident. The Smiler... nobody is smiling now.

[xxMATTGxx]

Alton towers website now closed.

THIS HAS BECAME SERIOUS

They can open soon.

[MKR&*42]

I was discussing final destination movies at work and talked about the rollercoast death on the day this happened...when i found out i just, im now terrified basically of rollercoasters.

This is awful :(

[buttons]

Saw broke down when we were queuing remember @buttons (http://www.habboxforum.com/member.php?u=42203);
yes, also i was on a ride at thorpe park with @Nemo (http://www.habboxforum.com/member.php?u=24706); that goes upside down and when i first got on they put me in too tight so i was like being pushed OFF the seat so i told them and then they took it off wayyy too loosely. i was literally holding on for my life, i swear to god (and niamh was laughing but i'm not even exaggerating!). gotta be careful on these rides when you're a skinny minnie

slammer i think it was called

[Oddy]

This is so sad, people go to a fun park to have fun, not lose legs and get harmed for life.

[Mollyy]

Last time I was at Alton Towers, The Smiler broke down while I was on it. Luckily, not like this. There's been constant problems with the ride and while I understand no roller coaster runs absolutely smoothly and perfectly forever there shouldn't be so many problems so early on. Pretty sad it takes such a horrific accident before proper action is taken.

[Danny]

Hearing that Alton Towers is to open today, but the bigger rides like Oblivion won't be running.

[xxMATTGxx]

Hearing that Alton Towers is to open today, but the bigger rides like Oblivion won't be running.

Correct


Alton Towers Theme Park will re-open on Monday 8th June at 10:00am

However the rides in the XSector (The Smiler, Oblivion & Enterprise) and Sonic Spinball will be closed until further notice.

[GoldenMerc]

Interesting, wonder if park sales will drop not only because of the crash, but also cutting off other rides (I know its for their own good but yeh)

[xxMATTGxx]

People still fly on planes so I don't see a massive effect on sales. Probably only in the short term maybe?

[GoldenMerc]

People still fly on planes so I don't see a massive effect on sales. Probably only in the short term maybe?

Well the X sector is there main attraction, essentially their lead bait to bring people in. so unless they can quickly find some sort of alternative they will drop in sales AFAIK

[Kyle]

laughing at sonic spinball being closed, it's one of the tamest rides there. hurts around the corners though bloody hell

[GoldenMerc]

laughing at sonic spinball being closed, it's one of the tamest rides there. hurts around the corners though bloody hell

I think they have shut every ride made by that company

- - - Updated - - -


laughing at sonic spinball being closed, it's one of the tamest rides there. hurts around the corners though bloody hell

I think they have shut every ride made by that company

[Joe]

I think they have shut every ride made by that company

Yeah, Saw at Thorpe Park is closed as is a few other ones around the country.

[xxMATTGxx]

Does the pinball ride have 2 carts on it at once or?

[GoldenMerc]

Yeah, Saw at Thorpe Park is closed as is a few other ones around the country.

Yeh chessington has also, will be interesting to see what comes out of this to be honest

[xxMATTGxx]

I think they have shut every ride made by that company

- - - Updated - - -



I think they have shut every ride made by that company

While both ride makers are German, I'm pretty sure the pinball isn't made by the same maker as The Smiler.

[GoldenMerc]

While both ride makers are German, I'm pretty sure the pinball isn't made by the same maker as The Smiler.

The Smiler is a steel roller coaster located at Alton Towers in Staffordshire, United Kingdom. Manufactured by Gerstlauer, it features 14 inversions and holds the world record for most inversions on a roller coaster. The Smiler has suffered a series of setbacks and ride incidents, however, including one that occurred during its preview event which delayed the official opening date by two months to 31 May 2013.


Sonic Spinball (previously known as Spinball Whizzer), is a steel spinning roller coaster made by Maurer Söhne of Germany and sponsored by SEGA. The ride is located in the Adventure Land area of Alton Towers in Staffordshire, England. It is based on SEGA's number one franchise Sonic the Hedgehog. "Sonic Spinball" itself was an early pinball game released for Sega's Mega Drive, Game Gear and Master System systems, which is referenced in the ride's theming.

Hmm, wonder how they are evaluating it then?

[xxMATTGxx]

The Smiler is a steel roller coaster located at Alton Towers in Staffordshire, United Kingdom. Manufactured by Gerstlauer, it features 14 inversions and holds the world record for most inversions on a roller coaster. The Smiler has suffered a series of setbacks and ride incidents, however, including one that occurred during its preview event which delayed the official opening date by two months to 31 May 2013.


Sonic Spinball (previously known as Spinball Whizzer), is a steel spinning roller coaster made by Maurer Söhne of Germany and sponsored by SEGA. The ride is located in the Adventure Land area of Alton Towers in Staffordshire, England. It is based on SEGA's number one franchise Sonic the Hedgehog. "Sonic Spinball" itself was an early pinball game released for Sega's Mega Drive, Game Gear and Master System systems, which is referenced in the ride's theming.

Hmm, wonder how they are evaluating it then?


Looking at the picture below, 2 carts on track at once. It's any rides that have that sort of feature I believe. As that's what the problem was with The Smiler due to the empty cart getting stuck.

http://cache.rcdb.com/acg4qh0018v90080002a18.jpg

[Kyle]

literally the most painful rollercoaster, should knock it down not close it^

[GoldenMerc]

literally the most painful rollercoaster, should knock it down not close it^

Sega have a sponsorship deal till 2016 anyway

[Samantha]

The 17 year old lost a leg, a shame since it was her first date with Joe who was also injured. She will be entitled to so much. Another injured person is Chanda Singh who has a damaged liver.

[Kardan]

Do theme parks not have anything on the back of tickets saying something like 'You go on rides with your own risk', a bit like how race tracks do?

[xxMATTGxx]

Do theme parks not have anything on the back of tickets saying something like 'You go on rides with your own risk', a bit like how race tracks do?

Does that even count when someone loses their actual leg though? But they can still receive payouts though. As some girl died on a theme park ride a few years back in the UK and think they got a couple of grand. Although there was a court case involved.

[GommeInc]

Do theme parks not have anything on the back of tickets saying something like 'You go on rides with your own risk', a bit like how race tracks do?
Probably a limit to said risk. It's expected rollercoasters won't kill you or seriously injure you, and an amputation and/or damaged liver is probably pushing it a bit far. Bruising or being thrown around a little is a reasonable expectation, and a risk you willingly take.

[GoldenMerc]

I imagine you agree to the T&C before purchasing, so you already have signed your life away in essence.

[xxMATTGxx]

I imagine you agree to the T&C before purchasing, so you already have signed your life away in essence.

No one has signed their life away by going to Alton Towers. You don't go to a theme park and expect to lose your leg. Sure you may get a few bruises and that but serious injuries? No, shouldn't happen.

[Joe]

Only thing I could find relating to this on the T&C's on Merlin website.


By entering the Attraction, you accept that you have a duty to take reasonable steps to ensure your own safety, taking into account any personal medical conditions.

Funnily enough nothing to do with Merlin's duty to the customer to keep them safe.

[Samantha]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-33296533

Vicky Balch has had to have her leg amputated too. Hers is below the knee and it took 7 hours to do, but she does need immediate surgery for a more acute amputation to be done.

[xxMATTGxx]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-33296533

Vicky Balch has had to have her leg amputated too. Hers is below the knee and it took 7 hours to do, but she does need immediate surgery for a more acute amputation to be done.

What a shame :(