Alton Towers Temporarily Closed

Alton Towers will be temporarily closed until the cause of the rollercoaster crash is discovered.

12:48 05 June 2015

Following the roller coaster crash that left 16 people injured, it was announced that Alton Towers will remain closed until the Health and Safety Executive’s investigation is able to establish the cause of the incident.   

 

On Tuesday, two carriages collided at the park’s  £18m ride The Smiler, leaving people trapped 25ft at an angle of 45 degrees for more than four hours. 

 

Writing in the Sun, Merlin Entertainments chief executive Mr Varney said: "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."

 

16 people were hurt while four were seriously injured. These are Joe Pugh, 18, and his girlfriend Leah Washington, 17, both from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, 27-year-old Daniel Thorpe from Buxton in Derbyshire, and 19-year-old Vicky Balch, who is believed to be from Leyland in Lancashire.

 

Meanwhile, Paul Kelly from the British Association of Leisure Parks, was saddened by the news. 

 

"It's very rare and a lot of people are very upset. This is something which happened outside normal parameters."

 

He added: "I would like to reassure the public that theme parks are a very safe environment on a normal day out."