Theme parks urged to give staff more training following schoolgirl’s death
All UK theme parks will be asked to conduct further CCTV training with staff following the death of a school girl on a water ride in Drayton Manor Park.
Evha Jannath, aged 11, drowned after she fell head first from the Splash Canyon ride in May 2017.
The theme park is facing prosecution for her death under Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act.
A jury at her inquest yesterday returned a verdict of accidental death.
It said the monitoring of CCTV ‘did not identify any misbehaviour’ by Evha, despite the inquest hearing she had been standing up and ‘reaching into the water’ from the ride, both of which were against the rules, before the dinghy hit a barrier, tipping her into the water.
Assistant coroner Margaret Jones said she would write to every UK theme park urging them to conduct CCTV training, among other safety requirements.
Stafford Coroner’s Court was told the emergency stop button for the ride at the Staffordshire theme park was not pressed after she fell.
Issues with safety measures on the ride, including the CCTV screens being difficult to see and the legibility of safety signs on the dinghies telling riders to stay seated, had been discussed three weeks before the accident, the inquest heard.
The jury saw CCTV footage which showed the Evha and four friends boarding the ride before Evha stood up towards the end and then fell in water.
Evha had tried to climb up the wooden travellator that carried the dinghies up to the end of the ride, but fell off the side into a deep pool.
It took around 17 minutes for staff to locate Evha and pull her from the water, by which time she was lifeless. She was given CPR at the scene and airlifted to Birmingham Children’s Hospital where she died.
Drayton said Splash Canyon would not reopen ‘in this design’ and not until proceedings with the Health and Safety Executive had concluded.
A spokesperson added: "We would like to express our deep, deep regret for the loss of Evha in what was a tragic accident back in 2017. Our thoughts have remained with her family, friends and everyone affected since that day.
"We thank the jury and coroner for their consideration and would also echo the commendations from the coroner and the ambulance service for our dedicated staff who assisted in the rescue and first aid of Evha.
"As a park and a community, the safety of our guests and staff is absolutely paramount. We will continue to work with the wider theme park community to ensure all lessons are learnt and appropriate action is taken."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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