Fourteen people are injured, two critically, after a tree fell on a rollercoaster in a Spanish theme park. The incident took place in PortAventura World, Salou, Catalonia on Sunday during a period of “strong winds”, according to a theme park spokesman.
The tree fell very close to the Tomahawk ride at the park, with branches hitting several of those on the rollercoaster.
The spokesman said in the wake of the incident: “The incident was caused by a tree falling close to the Tomahawk ride. Some of the branches hit visitors who were on the ride.”
The park were quick to note that the incident had nothing to do with the operational standard of the ride, La Voz de Galicia reports.
The statement added that the incident was “completely unrelated to the operation and maintenance of our attractions, which meet the highest safety standards and are subject to rigorous daily inspections”.
According to Spanish emergency services, five of the injured were taken to hospital. Of those five, two were in a critical condition.
One of the injured spoke to local outlet El Diari de Tarragona. They told the publication: “At the end, when we were approaching the photograph point, we saw that there was a tree on the wooden structure of the ride. We saw the tree and that’s when the nightmare started.
“We ducked our heads as quickly as we could. I was hit on the head a couple of times by the tree, but there were people who were worse off. We saw a woman with a badly broken head and a little girl with a bloody face. There was a lot of blood and children crying, it was terrible.”
Following the incident it was reported that an air ambulance was called to the scene.
This is not the first incident to have taken place at PortAventura. In 2009, a worker was killed after being run over by a trolley and three years later two barges collided on a water ride leaving several people injured.
In 1997, a person died after they were ejected from a carriage.
PortAventura’s website describes the ride struck by the tree as a “children’s roller coaster with frenetic climbs and descents that will test the bravery of all those who dare to challenge it”.
