Alton Towers closed for second day after rollercoaster crash
Alton Towers will remain closed today (Thursday) after a ‘dreadful’ incident on one of its rollercoasters yesterday.
Four visitors were seriously when two carriages collided on the park’s Smiler rollercoaster (pictured here).
They were crushed after the carriage carrying 16 people crashed into an empty cart on the £18m ride.
Some reports claim one of the injured passengers has lost a leg.
Passengers were left stranded for five hours as emergency workers tried to cut them free from the wreckage.
Some were unconscious and covered in blood.
The 53mph Smiler rollercoaster, which boasts a world record 14 loops, has been plagued with faults since it opened two years ago.
Alton Towers is carrying out an investigation into the incident, which it says was the most serious in its history.
Merlin Entertainments, owner of Alton Towers, saw its shares drop more than 3% following the incident.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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