There are a lot of people who love theme parks, but I’ve never really been among them. Once the rides started getting a little too fast, they stopped being of interest to me or my stomach.
So while my friends are screaming on a roller coaster, I’m much more at home at the arcade.
Despite how it may sound, however, this never had anything to do with fears that something would go wrong with the rides.
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Although there are certainly instances where malfunctioning rides have had deadly consequences, it’s important to remember that these are rare occurrences.
It’s in everyone’s best interests to ensure these attractions are as safe as possible.
Still, accidents do happen and as the full video shows, even the most risk-averse among us don’t always expect the consequences of these accidents.
At first, nothing seemed out of the ordinary with this wave pool at Yulong Shuiyun Water Amusement Park in Longjing, China.
As the video starts, we can see dozens of visitors floating around in it and having a perfectly good time.
However, it only takes about two seconds before onlookers start to notice something is off.
That the next incoming wave is getting a little too high.
It takes another few breaths for a few of the swimmers to notice and begin to move away.
However, most of the guests in the pool appear unaware of the danger for long enough to start making my palms sweat just watching.
What none of them knew, however, was that the full power of the wave pool was being unleashed.
According to the South China Morning Post , this was due to a power failure that damaging some electronic equipment that controlled the waves.
As a result, the waves produced were larger and more violent than they were supposed to be.
And so, they buffeted guests around the pool, which resulted in 44 injuries, several of which included fractured ribs.
Five people injured by the “tsunami” captured in the full video remain in the hospital under stable condition.
The park closed for the day while the matter was investigated, but is expected to reopen tomorrow.
As you’ll see in the full video, the massive wave generated by the malfunctioning pool spilled over into the crowd of onlookers.
Those who weren’t knocked on their feet by the sudden rushing water can be seen running away from it.
When the park reopens, however, it seems the pool will reopen along with it.
Repairs were apparently made following the investigation and the South China Morning Post reported that the pool would only remain closed as long as the investigation took place.
Although online rumors speculated that the wave pool’s operator was drunk at the time, this was determined to be false.
Despite what the tweet accompanying the full video here may suggest, the “tsunami” shown was purely the result of the damaged electronic equipment mentioned above.
