Today is the five-year anniversary of the Smiler crash the rollercoaster crash that shocked the UK in 2015.The tragic crash occurred the 2nd of June, in 2015 when a train loaded with passengers in the Alton Towers attraction hit the empty train leading to serious injuries for several riders.Usually the ride is restricted to four trains. can be on the attraction at one moment, however, a sixth train was allowed due to the huge crowds.But due to the strong winds the test train became stuck and the management ignored safety instructions, since they weren’t aware of this test train.Couple hurt in Alton Towers rollercoaster crash get engaged.
What has happened?
Two teens two teenagers – Vicky Balch, then 19 as well as Leah Washington, then 17 Each lost a leg when they collided in June.The shocking footage of the CCTV camera released at the time of the hearing shows the vehicle hitting the vehicle, causing severe injuries to passengers.Train passengers saw the train with “disbelief and terror” the possibility of having to collide with the empty carriage.The force of the collision was like the impact of a car crash at 90mph.Visitors Nick Craythorne, who filmed an audio recording of the moment the train came down, described the moment as “panic” as the reality of what happened was realised to everyone.
He added: “There was panic. Everybody was getting up trying to find out what was happening.
Stafford Crown Court heard the victims were in “disbelief and shock” before ploughing into an empty vehicle in the tracks and the impact was compared by the prosecution to a car that was travelling at 90mph crash.The company was fined after a court was told it was an engineer who “felt the pressure” to bring Smiler back in operation following the discovery of a fault just prior to the catastrophic crash.Couple hurt in Alton Towers rollercoaster crash get engaged.Investigations revealed safety flaws that caused the accident in which two girls fell and broke their legs each while 14 other people were injured.
Leah Washington , 18, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, and Vicky Balch, 20 , from Leyland, Lancashire, both were left with a leg amputated following the collision. The boyfriend of Leah, Joe Pugh, 18, and Vicky’s best friend Daniel Thorpe, 28, from Buxton, Derbyshire, also suffered serious leg injuries.
Chandaben Chauhan 49 year old Chandaben Chauhan of Wednesbury was airlifted into hospital for serious internal injuries.
What happened in the aftermath?
Merlin Entertainments decided to close The Smiler, Saw – The Ride at Thorpe Park, and two other rollercoasters at Chessington World of Adventures (all of which are now open) while safety procedures and procedures were reviewed.In July of 2015 the statement was made in July 2015 by Merlin Entertainments chief executive Nick Varney that The Smiler would “not be in operation until this summer”.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) began a criminal probe that focused on the behavior of two employees who were ride engineers as well as the ride operator who were allegedly unable to observe safety rules that led to the incident.After the incident, Alton Towers and its owner Merlin Entertainments observed a drop in visitor and revenue which led to the decision of eliminating the possibility of 190 jobs within the amusement park.
Six rides were shut down in the 2016 season because of the accident. Who was determined to be responsible?
Merlin Attractions Operations Ltd was accused of being prosecuted by the HSE at the North Staffordshire Justice Centre inl 2016 in which the company was found guilty.After a hearing lasting two days in Stafford Crown Court, Judge Michael Chambers QC fined Merlin Entertainments PS5 million.In September of this year, Vicky Balch and Leah Washington filed a lawsuit against Merlin Attractions Operations Ltd for infractions and/or breaching a statutory obligation.
Was did those who were victims’ words say?
The Smiler rollercoaster opened again in March, just nine months after the accident.Vicky was critical of the decision, and stated that she believes Merlin Attractions had “put money over people”.At the time, she said: “If it was a better day, we could have been dead, worst-case scenario. At the end of the day, it’s as if that the money is more important than the passengers on the bus.
