cobra_roll06 Posted July 15, 2007 Share Posted July 15, 2007 I heard this on the radio coming home then looked it up Source from BBC News. Man injured in rollercoaster fall An 18-year-old ride operator is in a serious condition in hospital after falling about 80ft from a rollercoaster in Ayrshire. The man was working at the Loudoun Castle Theme Park in Galston when the accident happened at about 1145 BST on Sunday. He was carrying out repairs on the rollercoaster at the time. He was taken to Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock. No-one else was on the ride at the time. Enquiries into the incident are continuing and the Health and Safety Executive has been informed. A statement from Strathclyde Police said: "His condition is described by medical staff as 'very serious'." 'Extremely distressed' The Scottish Ambulance Service said paramedics arrived within seven minutes of the call. Loudoun Castle boasts numerous rides including the Twist and Shout rollercoaster. In a statement, Henk Bembom, director of Loudoun Castle Theme Park, said: "I can confirm that an incident occurred this morning at Loudoun Castle involving a member of staff. "We are all devastated and extremely distressed and our thoughts are with our colleague and his family at this time "An investigation has started by Health and Safety. The ride concerned was in a good operating condition." "Twist and Shout" is a Schwarzkopf silverarrow model (Scorpion at BGA). Personally I feel sorry for this guy but it was probably his own fault. I hate hearing any sort of news like this. This year hasn't been particularly great for accidents, so lets hope this is the last one!!! I've already heard people talking about how dangerous theme parks are, but what they do not realise is that 9/10 incidents are due to people being careless and stupied! "Twist and Shout" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidcoaster Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 Wow this has not been a good year for Ride Ops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odene497 Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 OMG this ride must be so unsafe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanks4me05 Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 I think that this one is yet again the rider/ride op's fault. It's sad. That's all I can say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shavethewhales Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 Did he not have a harness at 80ft up? I wonder what he was doing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corkscrewed Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 How did he not DIE from an 80 foot fall? Wow. I'm impressed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobra_roll06 Posted July 16, 2007 Author Share Posted July 16, 2007 OMG this ride must be so unsafe. Looks like the news got it wrong yesterday. Just read the real story in the paper and the operator fell from the "Rat" ride, a Maurer Söhne Wilde Maus Classic. I cannot find the article on the internet but the story is the exact same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exmouse Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 I've already heard people talking about how dangerous theme parks are, but what they do not realise is that 9/10 incidents are due to people being careless and stupid! That's an interesting statistic. I'm a journalist and always on the look out for an interesting story. Where did you find the evidence that supports that statistic. Until more information is released we shouldn't speculate that it was his fault. We do not know the full circumstances. Did he fall from the car, did he fall off the track while working on it, was an appropriate harness supplied if required etc. I'm sure we'll know more soon. Hopefully he pulls through and gets better soon. And our thoughts should be with him and the family at this difficult time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmBy Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 Hope he recovers ok from this one. He must have fell from the top, lucky he probably didn't hit a support on the way down. Seems most of the accidents lately are related to the ride ops and there seems the have been accident after accident the last few weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lil jimmy norton Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 I feel like I am saying this once a week. I feel horrible for the guy, and his family. Out of all the accidents at amusement parks this year, how many have actually been from the ride malfuncioning? Most of these accidents seem to me wrong place, wrong time kind of deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verticalzero Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 For Ref: On RCDB it says: Twist n Shout is: Length: 1817' 7" Height: 60' 8" Inversions: 1 Speed: 41 mph Duration: 1:48 Rat is: Length: 1213' 11" Height: 49' 3" Inversions: 0 Speed: 28 mph Duration: 1:34 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobra_roll06 Posted July 16, 2007 Author Share Posted July 16, 2007 ^ I noticed that as well but newspapers are always going to exaggerate to make a story seem more shocking, so I kind of just ignore it now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hemmy Posted July 16, 2007 Share Posted July 16, 2007 I've already heard people talking about how dangerous theme parks are, but what they do not realise is that 9/10 incidents are due to people being careless and stupid! That's an interesting statistic. I'm a journalist and always on the look out for an interesting story. Where did you find the evidence that supports that statistic. Until more information is released we shouldn't speculate that it was his fault. We do not know the full circumstances. Did he fall from the car, did he fall off the track while working on it, was an appropriate harness supplied if required etc. I'm sure we'll know more soon. Hopefully he pulls through and gets better soon. And our thoughts should be with him and the family at this difficult time. 75% of statistics are made up on the spot. Just like this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgwfreak Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 The kid died. Very sad. I feel very bad for the parents and family. http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/display.var.1550123.0.man_dies_after_rollercoaster_plunge.php A TEENAGE fun park worker has lost his fight for life after plunging 80ft from a ride. Mark Blackwood, 18, suffered horrific injuries when he fell from the Rat' ride at Loudoun Castle Theme Park in Galston, East Ayrshire, on Sunday morning. Mark, of Samson Avenue, Kilmarnock, was rushed to Crosshouse Hospital but died yesterday. It's believed he was at the fun park on his day off but stepped in and tried to fix the ride, which had passengers on it, after it suddenly came to a halt. Mark tried to push free a stuck carriage with a family inside - but the ride started to move again and he was dragged to the highest point. He lost his grip and plunged to the ground. advertisementA police spokeswoman said: "We can confirm an 18-year-old man died in hospital following an incident at Loudoun Castle. "A report will be prepared for the procurator fiscal and the Heath and Safety Executive has been made aware." It is understood Mark worked as a fairground operator and was not a maintenance worker. The theme park was closed yesterday, with a note on the gate saying it was shut "out of respect for a colleague". Henk Bembom, director of Loudoun Castle, said everyone's thoughts were with Mark's family. He added: "An investigation has been started by Health and Safety. The ride concerned was in a good operating condition." The theme park was open today but a Health and Safety Executive spokesman said park bosses had decided to close the ride. The spokesman added: "The ride has been closed voluntarily while our investigations continue, which could well be for the next few days. "We are trying to find out exactly what happened." Today Mark's parents were too upset to talk about the death of their son, described by locals as a friendly, well-mannered young man. Mark, a former pupil at Kilmarnock's Grange Academy, had only moved to the area within the last year. One neighbour said: "Mark seemed a very pleasant, friendly young man." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verticalzero Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 The guy could of be on his phone or texting, lost his footing and saw the ground appear quickly. I dought the harness broke or it could of been not secure when he thought it was. Have to wait to see what the outcome is in a few weeks / months time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobra_roll06 Posted July 17, 2007 Author Share Posted July 17, 2007 Wow i didn't think he was going to die! I thought he was going to pull through! Damn that sucks! This year sucks for theme park incidents! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattLCV Posted July 18, 2007 Share Posted July 18, 2007 I've just got back from a holiday so the first I knew of this was seeing a thread about it on the Loudoun Castle Vaults Forum. Such a tragic accident - something which sadly seems to have been occurring far too many times recently in the Amusement Park industry, but even more hard-hitting when it's so close to home. I'm sure all of our thoughts are with his family, friends and work colleagues at this very sad time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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