A 15-year-old girl has been killed and two others of the same age have suffered serious injuries after fairground ride at the Tibidabo park in Barcelona collapsed. A boy was also injured, although less seriously.
The president of the Tibidabo theme park, Sara Jaurrieta, told the press that the accident occurred when part of the supporting structure of the "Pendulum" ride gave way. The cause of the fault is yet to be established.
Later reports have established that the park managers had a warning that all was not right with the ride after operators reported a "strange noise" at about 3pm. The ride was closed while an inspection was carried out by the maintenance team. After running the ride successfully without anyone on, it was declared in "perfect working order" and opened again to the public just ten minutes later.
The theme park underwent a thorough inspection by an outside company on June 9th and will now be subject to a police investigation as well as carrying out their own internal investigation.
The accident happened around 7pm when all four victims were riding the "Pendulum" and part of it fell onto another attraction the "Gold Mine" which was empty at the time.
The collapse of the ride caused the immediate death of one 15-year-old from the Barcelona area. Two more youngsters with serious head and body traumas were rushed to the Sant Joan de Déu de Esplugues hospital and the Vall d'Hebron hospital in Barcelona respectively. They were operated on overnight and are now in a stable but serious condition.
The fourth victim, a lad of roughly the same age, was able to walk away from the collapsed ride and was taken to hospital by his parents.
This is the Tibidabo park's first fatal accident since it was taken over by the city council in 2002. It has over 30 rides and the "Pendulum" was opened in 2006. Its 'arm' lifts people 38 metres up into the air, to swing them down again at speeds of 100km per hour.
At least 12 people have died in theme park and fairground accidents in Spain since 2000, eight of them children.
