Tivoli Friheden: Teen girl, 14, dies after Cobra rollercoaster ride malfunctions at amusement park
A 14-year-old girl has died after a rollercoaster at an amusement park in Denmark malfunctioned, derailing the rear two seats of the ride. A 13-year-old also suffered injuries to one hand after the incident at the Tivoli Friheden amusement park in Aarhus, the country's second city. Park manager Henrik Ragborg Olsen told local new site Aarhus Stiftstidende that the two rear seats of the Cobra rollercoaster were hanging “under the wagon train.”
The park said on Facebook and Instagram that the accident happened when the track was in operation and part of the rear carriage broke off. East Jutland Police confirmed to TV2 that they received a call around 12:50 pm on Thursday, July 14, reporting that there had been an accident on the rollercoaster and people were stuck in the cars. Two people were taken to the hospital by emergency workers. A police investigation is now underway into the cause of the tragedy, which occurred around 97 miles (156km) northwest of the capital, Copenhagen.
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In a later statement, the park said: "It's hard for us to put into words the tragic accident of today, where a girl lost her life and a boy was injured". "Our heartfelt thoughts are with the girl and the girl's relatives, family and friends. Our thoughts are also with the boy, our staff and the many visitors at the park earlier today". "We are cooperating with East Jutland Police and are now awaiting the technical investigations regarding the accident."
Police inspector Brian Voss Olsen, however, told reporters the investigation continues and it’s too early to make any assumptions about what happened. “It’s going to be way too early. We are getting a lot of inquiries at the moment from witnesses. We must have written those witnesses together, and we must have clarified things. The witnesses we talk to must be the first to be notified before we confirm or deny anything,” he said, according to translated reports. The park has been closed since the incident happened and police are questioning witnesses.
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According to the BBC, this is not the first accident of its kind to happen on the ride. In 2008 a carriage broke off, injuring four people. An anonymous source told Aarhus Stiftstidende they had been visiting the park earlier this week and noticed the rollercoaster was operating all day without placing passengers in the back car of the ride. “The rear cart was not allowed to be used and was not used all day. The accident today was apparently in the back carriage. It smells a little bad,” the source wrote to the outlet. The 400-meter-long rollercoaster is 25 meters tall and the wagons have a top speed of 70 km/h, according to the Tivoli Friheden website.