The crash on the Smiler rollercoaster at Alton Towers that seriously injured five people was caused by human error, the theme park’s owner has said.
Merlin Entertainments said the ride would reopen next year after being closed since the crash in June.
Sixteen people were injured when their carriage collided with an empty one on a low section of the ride, which can reach speeds of up to 50mph. The five seriously injured were Vicky Balch and Daniel Thorpe, from Buxton in Derbyshire, Leah Washington and Joe Pugh, from Barnsley, and Chandaben Chauhan, from Wednesbury, West Midlands. Passengers were left trapped more than 20 feet from the ground at an angle of about 45 degrees before they were eventually freed by emergency workers and stretchered away. Some of the passengers sustained life-changing injuries.
Washington has said she feared she would die in the moments after the crash when she looked down and saw metal bars protruding into her legs.
In an interview in August, Washington described the “blur” of waking up in hospital and being told her left leg had been amputated and that it still had not sunk in.
Balch, who also lost a leg in the incident, has previously said she wanted the ride to shut for good. She told ITV: “I’d like it to be, but I know that’s not realistic because it was a big attraction for the company. It’s affected literally every aspect of my life. I’m not independent any more at all. I’m slowly getting that back, but life is never going to be the same as it used to be.”
An independent investigation by the Health and Safety Executive is ongoing.
In a statement on Tuesday, the theme park owner said: “The investigation concluded that the incident was the result of human error culminating in the manual override of the ride safety control system without the appropriate protocols being followed.
“The investigation also identified areas where protocols and the training of employees should be improved. There were found to be no technical or mechanical problems with the ride itself.”
It added that Alton Towers had introduced a number of new safety measures across all its multi-car rollercoasters since the accident.
When the Smiler reopens, it will include new safety measures including additional CCTV cameras and an enhanced safety process requiring a senior member of staff to authorise the manual overrides that caused the Smiler crash.
Merlin Entertainments said: “Alton Towers continues to provide help and support to all of those who were on the ride when the incident happened. It has taken full responsibility for the incident and continues to co-operate with the ongoing Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation.
“We are confident that lessons have been learned and that appropriate action has been taken to address all the issues raised by our investigation and we believe our core conclusions will be in line with the HSE findings.”
Paul Paxton, a partner at the law firm Stewarts Law, which is acting for Pugh, Washington and Balch, said it was too early to comment until the conclusion of the HSE investigation. “We will wait for the recommendations and full findings based on the ongoing investigation – these will be critical in ensuring that lessons are learned.”
