Alton Towers owner fined 'record' £5m over Smiler crash

Alton Towers pleads guilty over rollercoaster crash

22 April

Alton Towers operator Merlin Attractions Ltd has admitted breaching health and safety rules after a rollercoaster crash that caused life-changing injuries.

Two teenagers had to undergo a leg amputation as a result of the injuries sustained when a train on the Smiler ride collided with a stationary carriage on 2 June 2015.

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Other riders suffered internal bleeding, broken bones and a punctured lung.

The Health and Safety Executive told magistrates in Newcastle-under-Lyme that "while the ride was mechanically safe, there were not systems in place to tell staff when a static ride was on the tracks", the BBC reports.

Although the static carriage appeared on the computer system, the operator did not see it and was able to override its command.

Merlin's lawyer, Simon Antrobu, said the operator accepts that "additional reasonable and practicable measures could have been taken" to minimise the safety risk.

District Judge John McGarva warned the company that it "may be ordered to pay a very large fine" when sentenced at Stafford Crown Court at a later date.

Victims' lawyer Paul Paxton said the guilty pleas were "a milestone along the way to psychological rehabilitation", adding that physical recovery would be a "lifelong process" for some of the injured.

An internal investigation had already acknowledged the company's responsibility for the crash, concluding that human error on the part of the operator was to blame.

The Smiler ride re-opened in March, nine months after the crash, and the theme park assured visitors it had "sought to learn every possible lesson to help ensure there is no repeat of what happened".

Alton Towers has said that the high-profile incident has led to a drop in visitor numbers and revenue at the park. Last November, it announced that it was cutting 190 jobs, partly due to the impact of the Smiler crash.

Alton Towers rollercoaster crash blamed on human error

24 November 2015

The rollercoaster crash that seriously injured five people at Alton Towers this summer was caused by human error, an investigation by the theme park operator has concluded.

Merlin Entertainment also announced that The Smiler ride will reopen next year, the BBC reports.

Sixteen people were hurt when two carriages on the rollercoaster collided in June. The accident resulted in leg amputations for two teenage girls, Leah Washington and Vicky Balch.

The internal investigation found no technical or mechanical faults. "A ride shutdown message was misunderstood by staff at the ride," an Alton Towers spokeswoman said.

"This led to a decision to manually restart the ride, overriding the control system without appropriate safety protocols being followed correctly."

Alton Towers said it was complying fully with an ongoing investigation by the Health and Safety Executive and had already implemented additional security measures.

The statement added: "Alton Towers continues to provide help and support to all of those who were on the ride when the incident happened."

Alton Towers crash victim has leg amputated as park reopens

8 June

One of the four people seriously injured on last week's Alton Towers rollercoaster crash has had one of her legs amputated above the knee, it has been confirmed.

Leah Washington, 17, was said to be on a first date with 18-year-old Joe Pugh when their carriage collided with another empty carriage on The Smiler ride. Pugh broke both knees and suffered "extensive" hand injuries in the accident, reports Sky News.

Describing Leah's injuries as "life-changing", her father David thanked the emergency services at the scene and the hospital staff who "saved Leah's life".

The majority of the rides at Alton Towers opened to the public today for the first time since the crash. However, the £18m Smiler ride will remain closed for "the foreseeable future" as investigations continue ahead the summer season.

Photographs posted on Twitter suggest that visitor levels were dramatically down this morning, reports The Independent.

Meanwhile, litigation over the incident is underway, with the Alton Towers legal team due to meet lawyers acting for one of the victims this week. Paul Paxton, a partner at Stewarts Law, is seeking substantial damages on behalf of student Victoria Balch, 20, who has also undergone surgery for serious leg injuries.

Park owner Merlin Entertainments, which has already lost a reported £3m since closing its doors last Tuesday, could face a hefty legal bill over the accident, says The Guardian.

The Birmingham Mail has revealed that there were 32 recorded accidents over three years at Alton Towers. These included a visitor being rushed to hospital after hearing her "neck crack" on the 60mph Rita ride, and an employee falling into a water trough.

In the wake of the collision, the International Association of Amusement Parks has been keen to offer perspective to would-be visitors. The organisation claims that the odds of sustaining an injury at a theme park is one in nine million.

Alton Towers to remain shut while 'horror movie' crash investigated

04 June

Alton Towers will not re-open until an investigation into Tuesday's rollercoaster crash is completed.

The Health and Safety Executive are currently trying to find out what caused two carriages on The Smiler ride to collide, leaving 16 people injured.

Some passengers were trapped on the carriage for four and a half hours more than seven metres up in the air and at an angle of 45 degrees.

Two teenagers – 17-year-old Leah Washington and her 18-year-old from Barnsley – have been named as victims in the accident. The pair, who were reportedly on their first date, were among four people who suffered serious injuries and had to be airlifted to major trauma centres.

Witnesses compared the scene to a "horror movie", with screams of terror and one victim's face covered in blood.

One woman who was in the second row of the carriage said there had been "technical difficulties" moments before they began the ride. She said they had even been taken off the carriage and put back on again after several test cars were sent ahead of them.

She told The Sun: "The metal safety bar smashed into our legs. There was loads of screaming. I felt a burning sensation in my pelvis, and back and neck pain.

"It was terrifying. There was blood all over the floor because it was pouring out of their legs in the carriage and dropping down. The doctors and firemen were covered in blood as they scaled the scaffolding to treat the guys on the front row."

There was said to be a delay of 11 minutes from when Alton Towers bosses were informed of the collision and the time when emergency services were called. The theme park said that one of its own first responders arrived at the scene "within minutes". It added: "After [an] instant assessment they call our security department who then call 999 straight away."

Nick Varney, chief executive of Merlin Entertainments, which runs the park, wrote in The Sun: "Every rollercoaster has a computer-controlled block braking system for each section of track that should make it impossible for two trains to be on the same section at any one time.

"That clearly didn't happen and at this point I don't know if it was a technological or a human error.

"We want to know if this issue is isolated to The Smiler. We can't open again until we're sure."

Alton Towers: four 'seriously injured' after ride collision

2 June

Four people are said to be "seriously injured" after two carriages collided on a ride at Alton Towers in Staffordshire.

Four ambulances and an air ambulance were sent to the theme park after a carriage carrying 16 people on The Smiler ride reportedly collided with another empty, stationary carriage.

West Midlands Ambulance Service confirmed that a 999 call had been made just after 2pm from the park. "There are 16 patients on board The Smiler requiring triage, four of which have reported serious injuries," said a spokeswoman. "Ambulance staff and medics are working quickly with resort staff to gain access to the seriously injured."

One woman who claimed to have seen the incident described it as "terrifying" and said it left her feeling sick.

Another eyewitness told the BBC: "When the second carriage crashed people were screaming and shouting – even after it stopped. Everyone around the park ran over.

"The people looked significantly distressed. It was almost like a car crash, very full on."

The £18m ride was given an official Guinness World Record for the most loops in a rollercoaster when it opened in May 2013. Promising to "marmalise your body and mind", The Smiler includes a plunge drop of 30m, 14 loops, "extreme" turns and maximum speeds of 52mph.

Alton Towers said that staff had evacuated the ride "as quickly and safely as possible", but would not confirm whether anyone was injured.

In a statement, the park said there had been an "incident on the Smiler this afternoon involving two carriages coming together on a low section of the track". The resort's qualified first responders were first on the scene. It added that there will be a "full investigation once we have recovered the guests, who are our priority".