A spate of accidents at US amusement parks at the start of the summer season was downplayed by industry officials who said serious injuries remain rare despite the recent headlines.
NEW YORK: A spate of accidents at US amusement parks at the start of the summer season was downplayed by industry officials who said serious injuries remain rare despite the recent headlines.
The United States boasts to have the world’s largest amusement park industry, with about 335 million people last year flocking to about 600 amusement park and other traditional rides across the nation, taking more than 1.5 billion rides.
But the season got off to a rocky start with one employee killed after being thrown from a ride, a 13-year-old girl losing her feet after a cord snapped loose, and another 13-year-old girl seriously injured on a tea-cup ride.
Industry officials, however, stood by the parks’ safety records, saying the risk of being seriously injured at a theme park is around one in 9 million.
“Certainly we take any incident that occurs very, very seriously, but I really believe that the public understands how rare these events truly are,” said David Mandt, spokesman at the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions.
“I wouldn’t anticipate it would have a significant impact from an attendance perspective on the industry,” he said. Investigations are continuing into the recent accidents. Last Friday a 21-year-old employee at the Playland Amusement Park in Rye, New York, died after being thrown from an indoor ride called the Mind Scramble with rotating cars after not wearing a seat belt.
A day before a 13-year old girl ended up in intensive care after hitting her head on a Magic Teacup ride at Boomers, near Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
The same week a 13-year old girl lost her feet in an accident on the Superman Tower of Power ride at the Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom amusement park in Louisville, Kentucky.
Officials said while some accidents are the fault of parks, many can be prevented. “Between 80% and 85% of the accidents are traced back to unsafe acts by the rider,” said James Barber, spokesman for the National Association of Amusement Ride Safety Officials.
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