Inspectors at an amusement park in North Carolina, in the United States, continued this Monday (3) to investigate a roller coaster closed since Friday (30), shortly after a parent noticed a crack in the top of one of the pillars of the roller coaster. steel that support the toy.
“I’m not an engineer, but this is not right,” thought Jeremy Wagner on Friday when he saw the crack during his visit to Charlotte’s Carowinds Park, he told the CNN .
The Fury 325 roller coaster will remain closed until inspections and repairs take place, park officials said. It is one of the tallest and longest rides in a huge amusement park that straddles the North and South Carolina state line.
“The North Carolina Department of Labor […] there are inspectors on site who are working to collect more information,” the agency said at noon on Monday. “We will be able to do a full assessment and provide more information as it becomes available. Safety has always been and always will be our priority.”
Personnel from the Department of Elevators and Amusement Devices within the department were expected to visit the site. The agency did not share anything further about the nature of the investigation.
At the park with his family, Wagner knew something was wrong when he spotted the crack in the roller coaster’s frame, he told CNN . He picked up the phone and pressed the record button, zooming in on the crack to show that the support pillar moved slightly as the car with passengers drove past it.
“My daughter and my niece have been on the ride six times,” he told CNN .
Wagner reported the incident to the park’s customer service, but still felt uneasy after he left. “So I called the Charlotte fire department,” he said. “They called me back within 10 minutes and advised that the tour was closed.”
State or local governments have overseen amusement parks since the 1980s, when Congress revoked that authority from the Federal Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Nearly 40,000 injuries were estimated last year on amusement attractions, including rides, water slides and inflatables, the commission said.
Fury 325 is “North America’s tallest, fastest and longest gigantic roller coaster”, with a maximum height of almost 100 meters and reaching 150 km/h, says the park. A “giga” roller coaster has a drop of between 100 and 120 meters, according to Kings Island amusement park in Ohio.
The rest of the Carowinds water and amusement park is open on Monday, according to the website.
All rides, including the Fury 325, “go through daily inspections to ensure proper function and structural integrity,” Carowinds said.
“Safety is our top priority,” he said, “and we appreciate our valued customers’ patience and understanding during this process.”
Source: CNN Brasil
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