When we visit enough theme parks, it’s easy to take the amount of engineering and planning that goes into building each ride for granted.
When we were kids, our relationship with these rides began at “Am I tall enough to ride it?” and ended with “How fast does it go?”
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Rides were all excitement and no danger, because if kids are going to ride something, it must be ridiculously safe, right?
Unfortunately, we become all too aware of what needs to work correctly in a ride when something goes wrong.
No matter how many safety features we add or how careful we are, there’s always a chance that a fun day at the fair can suddenly turn tragic.
And witnesses in India had a clear view of that sudden, terrible shift.
The Kankaria Amusement Park at Ahmedabad, India features a “Discovery” ride.
When it’s working correctly, guests are seated around a pendulum, which swings back and forth between the ride’s structural supports.
Although these supports seemed to stand firm, riders discovered all too late on Sunday that the pendulum wasn’t as strong as they thought.
While it was swinging up, the pendulum quickly buckled downwards before snapping in half and falling to the ground.
The ride has a carrying capacity of 32 people and 31 were on board at the time of the mechanical failure.
As The Mirror reported , 29 of these riders were taken to the hospital after the accident.
Two of them would not survive.
Before this could happen, however, victims were reportedly seen covered in blood and screaming for help.
Some riders were still trapped in their seats after the impact and witnesses scrambled to free them.
No children were present on the ride when the accident occurred.
Now that this has happened, authorities are in the midst of trying to figure out what went wrong.
Although it’s clear to them that a pipe on the main shaft broke, the reason why is under investigation by Central Forensic Science Laboratory.
Baddrudin Sheikh of the Indian National Congress party blames the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party for the accident.
As he put it , “The ruling BJP failed to ensure regular maintenance. A complaint of negligence should be registered against [the] authorities.”
Of course, determining whether or not that’s true will have to wait until we see what the investigation uncovers.
Ahmedabad’s mayor, Bijal Patel, has pledged to take steps against those responsible for the mishap once they can be identified, however.
Watch the disaster unfold for yourself, though it is disturbing.
You would think that amusement park rides have some of the most fool proof engineering out there, but we have to remember that nothing is built to last forever.
I should reiterate though that most park rides are perfectly safe.
You are statistically safer on a roller coaster than you are a car, as cars get into accidents far more frequently than park rides break down. There’s no need to avoid fair rides for the rest of your life, so long as you are riding them properly, and understand the potential risks involved.
h/t: The Mirror
