Swedish amusement park’s negligence linked to fatal roller coaster derailment
- Investigators have found that Sweden’s oldest amusement park failed to properly test new parts from a roller coaster that derailed in June last year.
- The derailment occurred on June 25, 2023 at Grona Lund in Stockholm.
- At that time the roller coaster was carrying 11 passengers and a woman died after being thrown from the attraction.
Swedish accident investigators said Friday that the country’s oldest amusement park did not properly test new parts of a roller coaster that derailed last year and sent some passengers to the ground, killing one and injuring nine others, one of them seriously.
The June 25 derailment at Grona Lund park in Stockholm “was caused by deficiencies in the ordering, manufacturing and testing of new support arms for Jetline trains,” the Swedish Accident Investigation Authority said. He said the support arms were not strong enough.
At the time of the derailment, the roller coaster was carrying 11 passengers. The front of the train came off the tracks, leaving a car leaning toward the ground. A woman in her 30s was thrown from the vehicle and died. Two other people also fell from the train, one of whom was seriously injured and the other suffered minor injuries. Seven other passengers also suffered minor injuries.
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Grona Lund park general manager Jan Eriksson said at a news conference that “out of respect for the accident and everyone involved, we have decided to close Jetline forever.”
“Something like this has never happened before in Grona Lund and we will make sure that something like this never happens again,” Eriksson said, according to the Swedish news agency TT.
Police also launched a separate criminal investigation into the derailment. Christer B. Jarlås, prosecutor of the National Environmental and Working Environment Unit, said the police carried out extensive interrogations, technical examinations of the train carriages and analysis of materials. He said there is currently no timetable for when a decision will be made on whether someone will be charged.
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The 800-meter-long roller coaster opened in 1988 and was renovated in 2000, according to Grona Lund. It has a maximum height of 98 feet and a maximum speed of 56 mph.
Grona Lund opened its doors in 1883.
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