Park rides could be fun but also fatal. On Friday, a 14-year-old female ride was thrown in the air and killed when the swing she rode at the Zhaohua Park in Fengdu County, Chongqing City malfunctioned.
Other park visitors witnessed the horror story unfolding before them when the victim rode the “A Journey in Space” machine. Footage showed that while the teen was still attached to the metal bar, she spun in the air with the ride for five seconds. Then she hit the ride’s sign board, was thrown out and hit the ground, Daily Mail reports.
Dead on Arrival
She was rushed to a hospital after resuscitation attempts by onlookers failed. But she was declared dead upon arrival at the People’s Hospital of Fengdu County.
Park visitors were screaming as they saw the teen spinning in the air and being thrown to the ground. Footage of the incident showed some of the visitors, including children, running away from “A Journey in Space” out of fear they would be hit. Other onlookers cried.
Following the accident, Chongqing authorities are investigating the incident. Other attraction in the Zhaohua Park, besides “A Journey in Space” are “Flying Moon Car” and “Flying Space Car.”
Similar Tragedy in Longshan Amusement Park
Around two years ago, a similar horrific accident claimed the lives of two people at the Longshan Amusement Park in Pingyang, Wenzhou City in Zhejiang Province. The two victims were tourists who did not have time to buckle their safety belts before “Scream” was switched on.
The victims plummeted more than 20 metres from the ride. It was a new ride that was opened to the public for the first time on May 1, 2015, the day of the accident. The “Scream” is one of the 17 mechanical rides in the amusement park. The “Scream” has two gondolas on both ends of a long arms which spins around a central pivot point to give the riders a high g-force ride, Daily Mail reported.