The latest in a series of problems with Alton Towers' £18million ride 'The Smiler' basically realised all our worst nightmares - a carriage came out of a loop (one of 14 in total) and crashed into another carriage that had been stuck. A director described it as 'the most serious incident' in the park's history, as people were trapped 25 foot above the ground for several hours after the crash occurred at around 2pm yesterday.
'When the second carriage crashed people were screaming and shouting - even after it stopped. Everyone around the park ran over,' an onlooker told the BBC. 'The people looked significantly distressed. It was almost like a car crash, very full-on.'
'The ride was delayed because of a technical fault for a while and then the ride came back on,' said another, who was in the queue. 'They sent a carriage without any people on it first and then sent a carriage with people on and that was the one that crashed. The platform of the ride where we were vibrated and a massive loud crash.' Five people were taken to hospital, four with serious injuries, and it took up to five hours to free some people.
This isn't the first time there have been issues with The Smiler, before opening the ride in 2013, 16 journalists were left stranded when it broke down during a preview night. Then, a few months later, a piece of the track fell off leaving 48 people stranded in mid-air, followed by another incident involving wheels falling off and hitting people. And a mere 14 months ago, it ground to a halt, leaving people dangling almost vertically.
Hey guys, probably close down The Smiler.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.