Roller coaster ride crashes at Ahmedabad, three dead

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Ahmedabad: In a freak mishap, at least three people died and 30 others were injured when a roller-coaster ride collapsed at a public park near the sprawling Kankaria Lake here on Sunday evening. Officials said there were around 40 persons on the ‘pendulum’ – Christened Discovery – in Kankaria Adventure Park when it collapsed, minutes after it went up. The park is in the Maninagar area of the city. The joy ride, which swings up to 30 feet on two sides and 65-feet high, came unstuck from its hinges and crashed to the ground with a huge thud; three people died on impact on the spot.

Municipal officials, who rushed to the spot, denied that the ride collapsed because of overloading. Officials said at least 15 of the 25 people who were admitted to the nearby Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation LG Hospital, were reported to be critical. Police officials said it was not immediately clear if the welded part that held the ride from its hinges on the top gave away or its nuts and bolts were loose leading to the roller coaster come crashing on the ground. Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner Vijay Nehra, as well as Mayor Bijal Patel, said a detailed investigation would be carried out to ascertain the reason for the accident and strict action would be initiated against the private company, which operated the joy ride. Nehra added that it would be inquired if the cause of the accident was poor maintenance. The incident on the heels of a similar accident in Tamil Nadu last month when a giant wheel collapsed at the Kishkinta theme park in Kancheepuram district.

Last month, the Ahmedabad Fire Brigade had carried out a midnight rescue operation after 40 people were stranded mid-air on a giant Ferris wheel at a fair in the city. Fire officials had to use a 55-metre-tall snorkel to rescue those who were stuck, including 14 children and eight women.