The story appears on

Page A4

February 8, 2017

GET this page in PDF

Free for subscribers

View shopping cart

Related News

Home » Metro » Society

Rides declared safe after tragedy

AUTHORITIES yesterday declared rides at Shanghai Happy Valley and the Jinjiang Amusement Park safe after inspections sparked by the death of a teenage girl in Fengdu County in Chongqing last Friday.

The 13-year-old was thrown from a ride known as “Space Travel” at the Zhaohua Park, in which carriages carrying riders spin 360 degrees on a giant wheel rotating vertically at the same time.

Her safety belt snapped, and she hit a fence as she fell from a considerable height on the 15 yuan (US$2.20) ride. Some reports say the safety bar had not been properly secured.

The Shanghai Quality and Technical Supervision Bureau inspected similar rides at the two amusement parks after the tragedy.

Bureau experts checked two Type A rides — “Splash Over” at Shanghai Happy Valley and “Wave Tumbling” at Jinjiang Amusement Park — which are similar to “Space Travel,” but declared them safe.

The inspections included trial runs.

Yao Jun, an expert with the Shanghai Institute of Special Equipment Quality Inspection and Technical Research affiliated to the supervision bureau said the rides could only work if the safety bars send a signal showing they are securely locked.

Yao said authorities keep records and rides must pass an inspection before they can go into operation and must pass annual reviews.

There are also random inspections.

All “Space Travel” rides have been shut down nationwide — there are about 65 — pending enhanced checks on maintenance, supervision and management.

The Shanghai Fisherman’s Wharf, a tourist attraction in Fengxian District once ran a “Space Travel” ride, made by the Chengdu Xin’an Amusement Facility Co Ltd which manufactured the ride in the latest incident, but pulled it down in 2015 over safety fears after two years of operation.

Although an investigation is still underway into last week’s death, the girl’s parents have accepted 870,000 yuan (US$127,000) compensation from the park operator.

Graphic video footage shows the girl being flung from her seat as her carriage reached the highest point in the ride. The ride is a Type A — the most dangerous.

The Zhaohua Park has suspended all major rides pending further checks and investigation after the death.

There have been several similar tragedies in recent years.

In May last year, two people were killed when a ride at the Longshan Park in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, started before passengers were strapped in.

And in February last year, a 17-year-old girl was thrown into the air and died when her ride suddenly started again after it had finished and she had unbuckled her safety belt. That happened at the Jinfengshan Amusement Park in Shaanxi Province.




 

Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.

沪公网安备 31010602000204号

Email this to your friend