A 16-year-old died in hospital after falling from the Skycoaster-style ride. Source
Accidents
Theme parks and roller coasters are statistically very, very, very safe. Out of the millions of people who ride the thousands of rides every year, there are only a small handful of incidents. You are statistically more likely to be involved in an accident driving to an amusement park than having one at a park. The rarity of accidents is one reason why the media report them, similar to plane crashes.
Every important element of a ride is inspected on a regular basis and every ride is tested every day without passengers before it opens. A ride might not open, or a safety system might activate, if there is an imperfection. For theme parks to operate, they must obtain insurance and one stipulation is their rides are frequently inspected and signed off by a strict Health & Safety governing body. Every theme park does what they can to prevent accidents because the negative press would be bad for business.
Having said all that, theme park accidents still happen…
The Rat, Loudoun Castle, Ayrshire, Scotland
An 18-year-old worker fell 80 feet and sustained horrific injuries whilst working on the ride.
Rock ‘n Rollercoaster, Disneyland Paris, France
A Spanish teenager fell unconscious and died. Cause of death was an unknown medical condition.
Superman Tower of Power, Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom, Louisville, USA
A 13-yearold girl lost her feet when the cable snapped on this drop tower ride.
Typhoon, PowerPark, Alahärmä, Finland
A 24-year-old ride operator walked into the path of the giant rotating pendulum swinging ride and died. Park officials said the woman was trying to retrieve shoes that a passenger had left on the platform. Source (in Finnish)
Fujin Raijin II, Expoland, Osaka, Japan
One woman died and 21 were injured when the ride broke from it’s axle and jumped the track. Source
X-treme Racers, Legoland Billund, Denmark
A 21-year-old male employee died after being struck by a coaster train when retrieving a guest’s wallet from behind a restricted area security fence.
Gwazi, Busch Gardens Tampa, FL, USA
A 52-year-old man who complained that he felt sick after riding the coaster died approximately two hours later in a hospital.
Runaway Mine Train, Alton Towers, UK
Twenty-nine people were injured when the train separated and crashed into each other. Source
Rock n Rollercoaster, Disney-MGM Studios, CA, USA
A 12-year-old boy died due to an undiagnosed medical condition brought on by the roller coaster.