June 26, 2023, 01:41 PM
Follow us on Telegram for the latest updates: https://t.me/mothershipsg
A roller coaster accident at Grona Lund theme park in Sweden killed one person and injured at least nine people on Sunday (Jun. 25), Reuters reported.
The nine injured people are receiving treatment at a nearby hospital. Among the wounded, at least three had severe injuries.
Day of mourning
The accident took place after 11.30am Swedish local time.
"Today is a day of mourning at Grona Lund, we've had a very serious accident in the roller coaster Jetline, where one person has died and nine people have been injured," Grona Lund's chief executive Jan Eriksson said in a press conference, as quoted by Reuters.
14 people were on the roller coaster when the front part partially derailed, Grona Lund updated on their Facebook page. The ride then stopped in the middle of the track with one carriage inclining out.
Jenny Lagerstedt, a journalist visiting the theme park with her family, told Swedish national broadcaster SVT she was around the area and heard a metallic noise and noticed the track structure was shaking at the time of the accident."My husband saw a roller coaster car with people in it falling to the ground," Lagerstedt said, adding that the accident scared her children.
Police investigation ongoing
The roller coaster, launched in 1988, reaches a speed of up to 90 kilometres per hour and a height of 30 metres.
At around 11:39am, the Swedish capital emergency services received an alert that a rollercoaster "had derailed and several people were injured."
Fire trucks, ambulances, and a helicopter were dispatched to the scene shortly after the accident.
In Sweden, one person was killed and nine others were injured due to an accident on a roller coaster.#Sweden #News pic.twitter.com/5G9T6NVg0f
— Sasha White (@rusashanews) June 25, 2023
“We are emptying the park and we’ve started our investigation,” a police spokesperson said, Aljazeera reported.
Eriksson said that the 140-year-old park would be closed for at least a week to assist the police investigation.
If you like what you read, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Telegram to get the latest updates.