Press release from Alton Towers this afternoon:

At 11.00am this morning, an incident occurred on the Runaway Mine Train in which the front of the carriage became separated from the rest of the train and the front half rolled into the back end. The train was stopped at once in line with our emergency procedures.

The ride was fully occupied at the time of the incident, but all were immediately evacuated and the ride was clear by 11.40am.

The Parkâs fully trained First Responders were also at the scene within minutes and a number of guests are being cared for on-site with cuts, bruises and minor injuries. As a precaution, four guests have been taken to Hospital.

The health and safety of our guests is our primarily objective. The ride has been closed and will remain so whilst a thorough investigation is carried out by the Parkâs Management team together with the Health and Safety Executive.

The remainder of the Park remains open as normal.

Reports on the news have suggested that there were as many as 29 injured, with 6 paitents taken to hospital, 2 had to be air-lifted from the ride. 4 of the paitents injuries are said to be minor, while 2 more are still being treated in hospital and are expected to stay in overnight. This has not been comfirmed tho, and no one from Tussards would comment.

I also found a copy of the news report here:

http://www.stubarnwell.pwp.blueyonder.co...sh_ITV.wmv

Oh dear....

Moving to Coaster Discussion...

I heard about this in the morning on ATA and kept an eye out for more news about the incident.

I can see the ride been closed for a while now, along with the rapids!

I hope they don't decide to close the rapids too, as I dont think the coaster car crashed on a section that was next to the rapids ride, so hopefully there will be no reason to. I was going to go there this weekend, with Stealth still out of order, I dont really fancy Thorpe Park.

Things like that really put you off for a while when it comes to going on rides. It doesn't bare thinking about if a similar "incident" were to occur on a larger, faster coaster.

I'm going to the seaside instead :roll:

Welll I read it was near the tunnel area, which is next to the rapids... I can't think why they'd close that down, though... after all, they said the rest of the park would 'remain open'...

Just think what it must have been like for the two people at the front of the back half which broke off, seeing the front car detach from the rest of the train...

Actually, this would be a good time to go to AT... no-one else will go! Think of all the rides you'll get on...

Just think what it must have been like for the two people at the front of the back half which broke off, seeing the front car detach from the rest of the train...

Something along the lines of "WTF" spring to mind.

Actually, this would be a good time to go to AT... no-one else will go! Think of all the rides you'll get on...

Errrr, still no. Brighton's definatly won the toss for this weekend :P

I feel I should also add that Alton Tower's safety reccord is excellent, but this particualr incident wont do the parks image any good.

Nah, with all the Press Coverage, it does have a downer on them!

Rapids WILL be closed until firther notice. Mainly for investigation reasons, keeping the public away and other safety reasons e.g investigators falling in water (lol).

^ Oh well, the rapids aren't the best ride there anyway...

Ok, i may be wrong!

The rapids will be operating as usuall, sooner than thought

I only heard it about it at about 2 oclock today....looks like Tussauds r gonna have to cough up some dosh for the injured peeps....or Decade Passes lol....still, its not good for their reputation. Nobody likes to see any accidents at themeparks!

Report from the Mirror Today.....

ALTON TERRORS
Rollercoaster injures 29 after carriage breaks free
By Patrick Mulchrone

A ROLLERCOASTER terror ride injured 29 people when a carriage broke free and trapped passengers at Alton Towers yesterday.

The front wagon of the Runaway Mine Train separated, rolled back and collided with the rest of the vehicle.

Staff halted the white-knuckle ride and it took around 40 minutes for all 46 occupants to be evacuated.

Advertisement
Falk AdSolution

Four were taken to hospital, with two women in their early 40s airlifted there. Most of those hurt were treated on the scene for cuts and bruises.

An unnamed worker, who witnessed the accident, said: "The train had just entered the tunnel which is very dark.

"Then there seems to have been some sort of malfunction with the ride, I think it was a power failure, and the train ended up rolling backwards.

"Those taken to hospital seemed to be coping all right and the others were just walking wounded."

Another, who had been manning a strongman hammer nearby, added: "There was this huge screeching sound because the brakes had jammed.

"Then the train rocked backwards. I looked over and there was a large crowd of people gathering round, seeing what had happened. Some of the passengers looked shell-shocked but relatively unhurt."

The ride, one of the oldest attractions at the Staffordshire theme park, was closed, pending an investigation.

Alton Towers said: "The health and safety of our guests is our primary objective. The ride has been closed and will remain so while a thorough investigation is carried out by the park's management team together with the Health and Safety Executive."

Jenny Crisp, 42, was in the park's first aid tent when the injured started to filter in.

She said: "There were six girls practically in tears and two guys. One of the guys was wearing an eye patch and the other had a bloody scratch running down the side of his face. His eyes were really blood-shot.

"The girls were shaking like leaves and one of them was then sick and they were led by first-aid staff off the site. It was terrible."

A theme park spokeswoman said they were still trying to establish how the carriage managed to separate from the rest of the train.

She said: "The train has a complicated structure and we are still investigating exactly how the accident managed to happen,

"The park's fully-trained First Responders were at the scene within minutes and a number of guests were cared for on-site with cuts, bruises and minor injuries.

"We are not sure how long it will remain closed, that will depend on the results of investigation."

A fairground expert said the accident was caused by the failure of a component in the ride's coupling system.

He said it was unlikely that record high temperatures had caused the train to separate from the carriages, but he could not rule it out.

Grayam Barnes, a member of the Health and Safety Executive's national fairgrounds inspection team, said: "It appears to have been a single component failure which caused the carriages to separate. The component in question is a short bar in the coupling mechanism."

He said similar rides worldwide will now be checked.

He added: "It is too early to say exactly why this component has failed, but fairground rides are subject to high levels of regulation and every ride has an annual inspection like an MOT.

"There are also regular safety checks, including routine maintenance and keeping safety records. All this is in place for the Runaway Train, which has been operating for several years and does have a good safety record.

"The accident is not likely to be related to the heat, but the warm weather might be a contributing factor."

He said a number of recommendations had already been made to Alton Towers, which would be discussing the incident with the ride's German manufacturer. The rest of the theme park will remain open.