robbalvey Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Original Article: http://www.elmundo.es/comunidad-valenciana/2014/07/07/53badcbb268e3e5b288b45b5.html Google Translated: A 18 year old has died on Monday at five o'clock in the afternoon at the amusement park Terra Mitica, Benidorm, to fly out of attraction 'Inferno', after failing harness protection and the victim sank. As confirmed by the Security council ELMUNDO.es Benidorm, José Marcet, the now deceased is a 18 year old, of Icelandic origin, who was on holiday with her parents and a friend. They were staying in Torrevieja and had decided to spend a day at the amusement park in Benidorm. Apparently, the young man has been thrown of Attraction "Inferno" and has precipitated to the ground, suffering multiple fractures and serious injuries. The roller coaster in which is registered the event is included in the Rome area, was opened in 2007 and provides up to 360 degrees turns. It speeds up to 60 miles per hour are reached. Although until the scene has shifted a unit of Urgent Medical Assistance Service (SAMU), although the doctors have been unable to save the life of the young. The Scientific Police have opened an investigation to determine what went wrong and the police proceeded to seal the attraction. Meanwhile, the High Court of Justice of the Valencian Community (TSJCV) reported that the trial court number 2 in Benidorm has opened a cause for the death of this person. Judge expected in the coming days the police report after which decide on the measures it deems necessary to find out what happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The49er Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Wow...this is awful. Prayers go out to this guy's family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KBrylczyk Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Terrible news. I'm curious about how exactly this happened, though. How did the restraint fail? Looking at the image of the cars it seems like it'd be next to impossible for it to fail. There's a belt and sidebar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamd Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 (edited) That is horrible news! Question with the seat belts on some otsr aren't those designed for both making sure the rider isn't too big and also in case the restraints pop open to prevent it from opening all the way? Another thing that makes this even more odd is Intamins belts tighten meaning even if the restraint unlocked it shouldnt pop up that much (if at all). I can't see an 18 year old (even with the harness popping open with the seat belt still on) being small enough to fit between the shoulder harness. I'm guessing either the seat belt failed or it was never put on when checking the train. It'll also be interesting to see what other parks like sfmm do to their versions of this ride. Edited July 7, 2014 by adamd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canadianparkfan Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 This is terrible! I wonder if this will affect Green lanturn and Insane, in a similar way the NTAG tragedy affected other rides? Looking at the pic of the restraints, I have no idea how this could've happened. Agree that maybe the belt wasn't on? Prayers are with this guys family Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VF15 Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 That's awful. I'm incredibly sorry for this boy and his family. Although, based on the ride's safety restraint, it's hard to believe that it happened on this coaster out of all of them. I wonder how this will affect similar coasters like Green Lantern at SFMM. I know this is a serious matter, but I hope that the GP doesn't react to this like they did with NTAG and instantly deem all roller coasters unsafe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atter Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 This is sad news. I'm not exactly sure how it could happened, it seems that both the seatbelt and harness had to malfunctions for this to happen. This probably was a freak accident and I'm saddened that it occurred. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GigaG Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 R.I.P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyber.Fiber Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Maybe the vest strap snapped (by the shoulder) and he slipped out of the lab bar. These rides look like they put lots of stress on the vest portion of the harness. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that if one point on the vest failed, the weight of the rider being tossed around would be enough to break the other side. Thoughts are with the family. This is very sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superbatboy Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Very sad, definitely feel for his family Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anac0nda Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Oh no, this is bad. I'm sorry for the family and friends, as well as everyone who witnessed this. I also wonder if this affects Kirnu. Fortunately, it had all of its seatbelts renewed for this season and we do always double check them: once before dispatching and again as it engages the lift. Also when I'm checking the restraints for smaller guests, I always make sure that the lap bar is tight, as there sometimes can be a large-ish gap between shoulders and the straps. I really wish they find out what went wrong and that the information would also come to my reaches. In the meantime I'll just remain confident trusting that our mechanics are doing a good job (which they are). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJeXeL Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 (edited) Sad to hear indeed and my prayers are with the family. Intamin hydraulic restraints (As well as 99.99% of other restraints) have redundant locking mechanisms. You can see in the picture that there's 2 independent, hydraulic cylinders. Intamin uses this hydraulic restraint system on most of the their coasters. CA Screamin' is 1 exception as it uses a quad-ratchet and pawl design. Source I'll be interested to hear what the investigation reveals. Edited July 7, 2014 by DJeXeL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GigaG Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 The victim was a British teenager- http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/british-teenager-killed-after-being-3825478 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 I will be very interested to hear a full report from this accident. Over the shoulder restraints with seat belts are VERY hard to 'fall out of'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canadianparkfan Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 That's awful. I'm incredibly sorry for this boy and his family. Although, based on the ride's safety restraint, it's hard to believe that it happened on this coaster out of all of them. I wonder how this will affect similar coasters like Green Lantern at SFMM. I know this is a serious matter, but I hope that the GP doesn't react to this like they did with NTAG and instantly deem all roller coasters unsafe. It ma have an impact on Europe, but hopefully the GP here on this side of the pond don't get as good coverage. However, all GP issues asside, this is a tragedy, and I'm sure the whole enthusiast comunity feels for this guy and his family Just a day after I rank an intamin ride as my #1 attraction in the country, this happens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dapalm Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 The victim was a British teenager- http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/british-teenager-killed-after-being-3825478 It says Inferno is Catalan for hell. It's not, it's latin. According to this spanish newspaper, he was from Iceland: http://www.diarioinformacion.com/sucesos/2014/07/07/fallece-joven-caer-atraccion-terra/1522379.html It is still unknown if it was a restraint fail. Don't believe spanish newspapers (well, I would say don't believe any newspaper). Here is Terra Mitica report: http://www.terramiticapark.com/blog/comunicado-oficial-terra-mitica/ It doesn't say anything. The ride has all security certifications, Terra Mitica staff check the ride every day and they remember is the first accident they have since opening (14 years ago). Here is a Google translation: "The park Terra Mitica address transmitted: The attraction features the official Inferno-a certification by a competent external company safety of attractions that conducts periodic reviews of the same-that guarantees the optimal performance of the attraction with optimal security. Similarly, the maintenance staff of Terra Mitica amusement park daily check the correct operation of the attraction. Each of these reviews is recorded in the internal documents of the company which has been handed over to the CID. For now, the causes of the accident are unknown. Terra Mitica continue to investigate the reasons for such unfortunate events as the park, along its 14 years of operation, has had an unblemished safety. From the Department of Terra Mitica whole family support is passed." I'll keep you informed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shockwave Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 I'm in Spain now and I'm due to visit the park on Wednesday. Was a real shock when I landed and found this out. As Elissa said, I'll be interested to see what the investigation says, I can't imagine how a restraint could just fail, especially how it is being implied by the press. It's far too early to say at the moment, but it's always very sad to hear when a fatality happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPDave Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 This is awful news, thoughts are with the family of the victim and all those who witnessed this. It's good that people aren't falling to speculation, it's important to wait and get the facts with incidents like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcjp Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Awful news.... Maybe the vest strap snapped (by the shoulder) and he slipped out of the lab bar. These rides look like they put lots of stress on the vest portion of the harness. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that if one point on the vest failed, the weight of the rider being tossed around would be enough to break the other side. Even if both of the straps snapped (and having ridden plenty of coasters with those restraints) I find it quite odd the lap bar part wouldn't hold him in place. Maybe it's better to wait for a more detailed report, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philrad71 Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 This is awful news, thoughts are with the family of the victim and all those who witnessed this. It's good that people aren't falling to speculation, it's important to wait and get the facts with incidents like this. 100% agree...terrible tragedy. But let's hope that our beloved enthusiast community doesn't feel the need to post twenty pages of speculation, arguments & nonsense with giving their "expert" engineering opinions as to how this could have happened. Not to be a jerk about it, but those of us that have been in these forums for a few years know that it happens just about every time that there is an amusement park tragedy... at least until the mods have to step in and put the smack down! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillseeker4552 Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 Wow. This is terrible news. How unfortunate for the victim, his family, and anyone who witnessed it. On the other hand, a hydraulic, double-locking Intamin shoulder harness with a safety seatbelt seems like it would be pretty much impossible to fall out of. Is this the first time someone has fallen out of a ride with shoulder harnesses? I'm interested to see more details about the cause of the accident. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharon29060 Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 This is awful and shocking news, thoughts and prayers are with the family of the victim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BDG Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 This article mentions the victim was overweight: http://ecodiario.eleconomista.es/noticias/noticias/5922622/07/14/Muere-una-persona-tras-caer-al-vacio-al-soltarse-el-arnes-de-una-atraccion-en-Terra-Mitica.html#.Kku8I3GbCBG0bRQ El sobrepeso de la víctima podría haber influido pero aún se esperan las pruebas del forense. That roughly translates to "The victim was overweight, which may have played a part in the incident, but investigations are ongoing." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamd Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 I guess if he's over weight and the harnesses (both sides) broke due to his weight giving them too much force (plus all the force thats been on them for how many years the ride has been open) makes the most sense so far. If this indeed happened I would guess the side part of the lap bar didn't matter for his size (as it would be sticking out too much) and during an inversion he probably easily slipped out. Of course this is given he was indeed overweight and the straps on the restraints broke (which makes the most sense). Unfortunately I can see if thats what indeed happened (the straps breaking) I can see them going with the hard restraints on all these rides and maybe even I-305 since they have the vests now as well. Will be interesting to see what indeed happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerstlaueringvar Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 RIP, sorry for the victim, his family and everyone who whitnissed this tragedy. Could it be the same cause of Superman? The lap bar only touched his belly, the negative G force and his weight broke the shoulder strap then he fell off from the car. I'm guessing the seats were at an upside down position when the car reaches the bottom of the big drop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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