7.24.08 - At the Vodafone Bula Festival in Nadi, Fiji a 24-year-old woman suffered severe injuries after falling off a Ferris wheel.

The woman fell some 20 feet after apparently slipping through a bottom portion of her seat on the Ferris wheel.

According to reports, there was a boy who also fell off the ride, but he subsequently ran away after falling to the ground. Investigators are trying to locate the boy.

The accident is being investigated.

7.23.08 - At Rapid Water Park in West Palm Beach, Florida on the 'Black Thunder' ride four people were injured when the ride apparently overturned on top of the riders on it.

Two of the injured, who were children, were sent to the hospital with a man. A teenager involved in the accident has since been released from the hospital.
 

According to an eyewitness, he looked down and could see two people lying in shallow water at the bottom of the ride. He further indicated that he saw the two moving, but paramedics carried them away on stretchers.                                                              
 

Another rider who had just got off the ride before the incident said that he heard a, "boom." Then he saw a girl come down the ride's slide by herself followed by a ride raft on top of a man and two younger people.

UPDATE: According to various reports, the raft was above the weight limit of 700 pounds.

7.18.08 - At the Three Rivers Festival in Fort Wayne, Indiana, a  four-year-old boy was injured when he was run over by a carnival ride.
 

According to the boy's grandmother, the boy was run over two or even three times by the ride's miniature cars. The boy suffered only scrapes and bruises as a result of the accident.

The boy was conscious after the accident and was taken to a local hospital for medical care.

Apparently the  boy may have become frightened and attempted  to climb off the ride. However, the boy's grandmother has indicated that her grandson had fallen off of the ride.

The ride was being operated by J&J Amusements.

7.17.08 - At the Adventuredome amusement park in Las Vegas, Nevada a 12-year-old girl went in to full cardiac arrest and almost died after riding the Canyon Blaster roller coaster.

Apparently at the conclusion of the ride the girl was not breathing and had gone in to full cardiac arrest. She was then taken off of the ride and a portable defibrillator was used to get her heart beating again.

The girl was rushed to the hospital, where remained in a coma until she died a few days later.

7.15.08 - At Liseberg theme park in Goteborg, Sweden the swinging Rainbow ride collapsed injuring various riders.

Two people riding were seriously injured when the ride collapsed. The ride was apparently full of riders at the time of the accident. The Rainbow ride has a seating capacity of 36 persons  in 3 rows.

According to a park manager, it appeared the accident was caused by a malfunctioning ball bearing. However, that same manager was quick to point out that the Rainbow ride had been through an inspection during the spring and no issues were found with the ride.

The Rainbow is a spinning arm with a seating compartment on one end.

Related Information of Interest:

• Attraction Safety Bulletin - 1001 Nights Attraction

7.14.08 - At Casino Pier amusement park in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, an employee was struck and injured by the Star Jet coaster.

Apparently, the worker was trying to retrieve a hat in a restricted area and was subsequently struck by the roller coaster. The man, 21, died of injuries he sustained due to being struck by the roller coaster.

The incident is being investigated.

Related Stories -- Struck by Amusement Rides:

• Boy, 17, Decapitated by Roller Coaster
• Carnival Worker Struck by Ride
• Amusement Ride Strikes Employee in the Head
• Carnival Worker Knocked Out by Amusement Ride
• Ride Operator Struck by Ride; Killed
• Worker Killed After Being Struck By Roller Coaster
• Man Killed at Italian Amusement Park
• Man Dead After Being Struck by Train at Amusement Park

7.13.08 - At Sommerland Amusement park in Fårup, Denmark, a  8-year-old boy fell from the park's Teacup ride. The boy was taken to the hospital and is in a coma.

According to reports, investigators have not been able to determine why a rubber safety stop, which prevents the doors on the ride from opening during operation, failed.

The ride has since reopened with metal plates having been added to ensure that this type of accident does not occur again.

7.8.08 - At Chalyuskintsaw Park in Minsk, Belgium, six people suffered injuries after a carousel collapsed.

A seven-year-old boy injured in the accident is in serious condition, the extent of his injuries, are unknown at this time.

The cause of the accident has yet to be established, however, the ride had apparently just been recognized as safe during an inspection this past April.

7.7.08 - At the British Grand Prix in Northamptonshire, England, two people were thrown from a fairground ride.
 

One of them, a man, suffered head injuries and was knocked unconscious. The other man suffered undisclosed injuries after they were both thrown from a carnival ride. The injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.

The Health and Safety Executive has started an investigation indicating that the two men were "thrown from a ride."

Related Stories: Carnival Accidents in Europe

7.6.08 - At Kennywood amusement park in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, the King Kahuna ride became stuck upside after the ride, instead of stopping at the station, rolled though the end and stopped upside down.

According to the amusement park, the ride operator pressed the emergency stop button, but it failed to work. Park mechanics, however, let air out of the air cylinder to bring the ride back to the station after riders were upside down for upwards of 10 minutes.

Two female riders complained of a headache and thigh pain. Another female rider complained of neck and back pain

The cause of the malfunction was a spec of dirt that got caught up inside of the rides braking system. The ride has since been re-opened.

7.6.08 - In Woodland, Ohio, about eighteen people had hydraulic oil get on their person when the "Orbiter" carnival ride malfunctioned.

Some of the injured, however, did seek medical attention at a local hospital

The Ohio Department of Agriculture Amusement Ride Safety Division will be looking into what may have went wrong.

Related Stories: Carnival Accidents in Ohio

7.5.08 - At Tivoli Friheden in Aarhus, Denmark, four people were injured when the 'Cobra' roller coaster apparently broke apart, with part of the ride crashing to the ground below.

The people injured on the ride, believed to be in their 20's, were sent to a local hospital with injuries -- which were believed not to be life-threatening.

Investigators are now trying to determine what caused the accident.

The Cobra Inverted roller coaster had recently opened and was built by Ride Tek Engineering of Italy.

Related Information: Ride Tek Engineering Website

7.2.08 - At a carnival in Loganville, Georgia a swing ride malfunctioned, throwing a man into the air.
 

Apparently a witness told police that one of the chains holding the swing ride broke while a heavyset man was riding it, throwing him into the air, causing him to come crashing down into a fence.

The man was taken to a local hospital with a cut to his head and back pain.

The carnival was being run by McNair Amusement of Loganville, Georgia.

Related Stories: Carnival Accidents in Georgia

6.30.08 - At Bal Bhavan children's park in India a mother jumped out of the 'Tora Tora' amusement ride to her death after she attempted to catch her three-year-old daughter who had slipped out of the ride. The little girl miraculously landed in the arms of a person near the ride.

Apparently the safety handle of the box she was in failed. The woman jumped off the ride to save her daughter -- her head smashing into a railing, killing her.

The the owner of Fun Style Amusements, who runs the rides at Bal Bhavan children's park has since been arrested regarding the accident.

6.28.08 - At Six Flags Over Georgia in Austell, Georgia a 17-year-old was decapitated by the Batman roller coaster after he jumped over a pair of fences and entered a restricted area.

According to reports, the teenager wanted to avoid long re-entry lines back into the park after he had returned from the parking lot.

No one riding on the roller coaster was injured.

In May 2002, a 58-year-old groundskeeper was killed after he wandered in a restricted area under the same Batman roller coaster and was struck in the head by a passengers leg.

6.20.08 - A 12-year-old girl was seriously injured on the Air Gymnasts attraction (a trampoline type attraction) at Divo Ostrov amusement park in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Apparently the girl struck metal structures that are part of the attraction, falling some 10 feet to the ground. The girl was hospitalized with an open fracture of the skull, an injury to the back of her head and a fracture of her spine.

City prosecutors have since opened a criminal case in regard to the production of products or services that do not meet safety requirements.

6.19.08 - At the Grant County 4-H Fair in Marion, Indiana, the 'Convoy' amusement ride tipped over, injuring two children.
 
Apparently the two were injured due to the instability of the ride, which came off its track and landed on its side. Ride operators were reported as saying that they were trying to correct the problem all day.
 

The two injured suffered cuts and bruises and were treated on the scene.

The State of Indiana Division of Elevators and Amusement Park Rides was to inspect the ride and deem it safe for the public.
 

This incident was blown out of proportion, according to a member of the carnival association operating the fair.

[Ed. Note - Blown out of proportion? Try telling the injured as well as their families that.]

6.19.08 -  A 7 year-old girl was thrown from the Polar Express ride at the Red River Exhibition in Winnipeg, Canada.

According to the girl's aunt, the girl went under her restraint and hit the backdrop of the ride. Two boys who were on the ride with the girl attempted to keep her in the ride by grabbing her leg and her arm, however, the were unable to keep her in.

The girl's aunt also indicates that she attempted to get the ride operators attention, but they were talking amongst themselves and were looking the other way.

A spokeswoman for North American Midway Entertainment, however, said the emergency stop button was pushed immediately. She also indicated that nothing was found wrong with the lap bars or the ride itself.

The ride has since been re-opened.

Related Accidents - North American Midway Entertainment:

• Woman, 45, Injured on Carnival Ride
• Boy, 17, Injured at Carnival
• Boy, 10, Ejected From Ride at South Carolina State Fair
• Woman, 24, Falls Out of Roller Coaster
• Amusement Ride Strikes Employee in the Head

6.18.08 - In Nicosia, Cyprus seven children were injured when an inflatable slide exploded.

Apparently the children were jumping on the slide when it exploded, injuring the seven children. Four of the children were taken to the hospital for medical treatment; one of them who had broken his arm.

An investigation regarding why the inflatable exploded is pending.

6.4.08 - At Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio, Texas riders had to be rescued after the 'Boomerang' roller coaster stopped mid-ride.

The roller coaster was apparently full of riders when the ride stopped -- taking up to an hour to get all riders off safely.

According to a spokesman for Fiesta Texas, "a safety switch caused the ride to stop." The ride was expected to be back up and running.

ASO's Consumer Report - 2007: Six Flags Fiesta Texas

5.30.08 - An inflatable slide collapsed at a festival in England, injuring a child.

Apparently several of the ride's anchors came flying out of the ground due to recent rainfall and the ground they were in being soft.

5.30.08 - At Splash Zone water park in Enid, Oklahoma, a 7-year-old girl was found unconscious and pulled from the pool by a patron who apparently had to yell several times to get assistance from a lifeguard who was watching a water basketball game.

Apparently the girl could not swim and was directed to a larger pool from the kiddie pool she was in because of a wristband policy. According to a lifeguard the girl did not let them know she could not swim.

The accident is under investigation.

5.28.08 - At Sun Valley Beach water park in Powder Springs, Georgia a 16-year-old boy drowned.

Apparently, fifteen lifeguards were on duty at the time the boy was discovered at the bottom of the pool. Not one of the fifteen lifeguards reported seeing anything unusual.

Local law enforcement is investigating.

5.18.08 - At Adventure Land amusement park in Altoona, Iowa, 18 riders were stuck upside down on the "Splash Over" ride for up to seven minutes.

According to one of the rider's mother, her daughter suffered busted blood vessels in her eyes and face. She further indicated that other children had bloody noses. A parks spokeswoman, however, indicated that there were no reported injuries.

The ride has been shut down until the manufacturer inspects the ride and can determine the cause of the malfunction.

5.16.08 - At Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio, two roller coaster cars collided on the Wildcat roller coaster. Nine riders were injured and subsequently treated at the park's first aid station.

One injured rider received treatment outside of the park.

Apparently one car failed to crest the first hill and rolled backward into another car.

5.16.08 - At the Gibraltar Spring Fair carnival in Taylor, Michigan a worker was struck by the Fireball ride while people were on board.

Apparently the man struck by the ride did not appear to be working the ride when he was hit, which knocked him unconscious.

The man was rushed to a local hospital and was believed to have been airlifted to a hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The ride has been since shut down as state investigators look into what happened.

The ride was being operated by Wade Shows of Livonia, Michigan.

[Note of interest: This is not the first accident to happen in Taylor, Michigan, in April of 2004 a Wade Shows employee was working on top of the Crazy Submarine ride at the Gibraltar Trade Center when another employee offered a child one last swing, not knowing the co-worker was on it, killing him.]

Related Stories: Carnival Accidents in Michigan

5.16.08 -  At the California's Calaveras County Fair and Jumping Frog Jubilee in Angels Camp, California, the Yo-Yo spinning carnival ride collapsed injuring 24 people on board.

Three of the riders -- many of them believed to be children -- had to be airlifted to hospitals, but some of the injuries do not appear to have been serious.

The Yo-Yo ride has metal arms extending out from a pole at the center. Each has a seat attached and they go up and down as the ride spins. Apparently the pole collapsed and the seats came subsequently crashing down.

California's amusement ride division is investigating.

The ride was being operated by Brass Ring Amusements of Oroville, California (aka Midway Amusements).

Related Stories: Carnival Accidents in California

5.10.08 -  At a park in Luhansk, Ukraine, a carousel jumped off its track and slammed into a pole killing two people and injuring about eight.

The dead were believed to be a man in his early 20s and a young woman in her late teens.

Eight others were hospitalized.

Apparently, the carousel was put up in the park without permission.

5.5.08 - A boy had four fingers on his left hand severed by a pump at the Blue Lagoon Water Park in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan.

Apparently the boy's left hand was sucked into the water pump placed near a
The pump had been placed near a pool to create artificial water spouts for the opening ceremony for the new Blue Lagoon Water Park.

Visitors who witnessed the accident were terrified and left the water park immediately afterwards.

In response to the grisly accident, the park said that the pump belonged to a contractor that had been working at the event and that there was no need to close the park after they had taken care of the cause of the accident.

5.1.08 - At Himeji Central Park in Himeji, Japan a 10-year-old girl broke her collarbone while riding the "Labyrinth," roller coaster.

Apparently the girl was sitting in the front of the second car and was flung out when the roller coaster train passed a curved section of track toward the end of the ride. When she was flung out, she made contact with an inner wall, sustaining her injury. The roller coaster can reach speeds of 24 Miles per Hour, but it is not known how fast it was going at the time of the accident.

The park has since ceased operations of the roller coaster to try and figure out why the girl was sent flying out of the roller coaster.

4.27.08 - A carnival worker in Georgia was hospitalized after falling more than 40 feet from a ride when he tried to secure two riders that he noticed had their ride's door not properly closed on the Roll-o-Plane amusement ride.

Apparently the worker was trying to secure the door when the ride suddenly started moving. This caused the man to grab onto the door, he apparently still held on despite the ride lifting him into the air. He eventually lost his grip and subsequently fell some 40 feet.

The carnival worker is said to be in serious condition, however, the extent of his injuries are unknown.

4.1.08 - At the Miami-Dade County Fair the 'Convoy' children's ride tipped over, injuring a 45-year old woman after spilling her to the ground.

The ride was closed until it could be inspected by the state's Bureau of Fair Rides. Ride operator, North American Midway Entertainment, fixed deficiencies noted in an inspection and subsequently reopened the ride.
 

State officials are investigating what caused one of the ride's trucks to dislodge from the track and tip sideways.
 

Also last week, a 9-year-old boy received an electrical shock while riding a carousel at the same fair. The boy was not seriously hurt, that was apparently due to an electrical short.

3.29.08 - At a carnival in Baytown, Texas a  4-year-old boy was injured after getting stuck under a carnival ride.

The boy was knocked unconscious after he had climbed out of a fire truck type ride and subsequently became pinned between its moving parts. The carnival operator immediately stopped the ride.

Apparently the child may have unbuckled a chain that is supposed to keep him inside of the ride.

Inspectors are looking into what may have happened.

3.24.08 -  A 46-year-old man died after the ceiling of an attraction came crashing down while he was inspecting it at Family Ai Land in Nagakute, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

Apparently, while inspecting the  "Family Swinger" ride inside the cylindrical column the ceiling gave way, crushing the man.

3.22.08 - In Fayetteville, North Carolina, a 23-year-old man was injured when he apparently tried to get off of a moving amusement ride.

The man got on the 'Scat' amusement ride, where riders stand and are strapped in across the waist and shoulders; however, he apparently tried to get off the ride, causing him to be thrown from it.

The 23-year-old suffered severe head injuries and was taken to the hospital in critical condition.

The ride was being operated by Michael's Amusement.

3.21.08 - At Emperors Palace in Johannesburg, South Africa a roller coaster became unhinged and toppled to its side and fell some 5 feet to the ground injuring 7 riders who apparently sustained head and neck related injuries.

Management of Emperors Palace maintains that the rides were just recently inspected within the week, however, there was no report from the inspection.

Angry family members of the injured have indicated that they will pursue further action against the resort.

2.24.08 - At Fiesta Fun Family Fun Center in St. George, Utah a woman was scalped as she rode a go-kart.

Apparently the woman's hair slipped through a crack in the go-kart's seat, which happens to be an area that separates the go-kart's head rest from its back rest. This subsequently resulted in the woman's hair being wrapped around the go-kart's drive shaft.

According to Fiesta Fun Family Fun Center's website, They offer a clean, attractive amusement park with 7 different attractions to choose from.

2.12.08 - At Atallah Park in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia a three-year-old boy died after a train ran over him.

The boy was riding the train ride when his seat belt came loose. He fell out and was run over by another train. He was pronounced dead at a hospital sometime later.

Atallah Park was closed after the accident and safety inspectors were at the park checking various rides.

Apparently the Civil Defense has a department that checks on the safety of amusement parks, with safety inspectors following a weekly and monthly maintenance schedule.

2.10.08 - On the Kilimanjaro Safari ride at Disney's Animal Kingdom, 4 people were injured when the ride caught on fire due to an engine hose failing.

One of the injured was taken to the hospital after she jumped from the safari truck, injuring her knee. The other three riders were treated for minor injuries.

Disney inspected all the safari vehicles and the ride was opened the following morning.

2.10.08 - At the Rainbow's End theme park in Auckland, New Zealand a 21-year-old man was killed while he cleaned a Ferris Wheel before the park opened.      

Apparently the man became trapped between the structure and one of the Ferris Wheel carriages. By the time medical assistance arrived and freed him, he was dead.

The Ferris Wheel stands about 33 feet tall and carries people in six gondola compartments.

This ride had recently passed an independent inspection in January and been released for normal operation by the parks engineers.

The park was closed for the rest of the day with police and the Occupational Safety and Health Service beginning an investigation to find out wh