Theme park death: Family’s tribute
FAMILY SPEAKS OUT AFTER DEATH OF YOUNG EVHA AT POPULAR THEME PARK
THE family of the 11-year-old schoolgirl who died at Drayton Manor theme park say “we are devastated that we will not see our beautiful little girl again”.
Evha Jannath, from Leicester, fell out of a boat on the Splash Canyon ride during a school trip to the theme park near Tamworth on Tuesday.
She was recovered from the water and received advanced life support from ambulance crews before she was flown to Birmingham Children’s Hospital, where she later died.
“Yesterday our world was torn apart by the news that our daughter and sister Evha, had lost her life in tragic circumstances, following a school trip to Drayton Manor Park,” the family said.
“Evha was a beautiful little girl who was full of love and always smiling.
“Words cannot describe the pain and loss we feel, we are devastated that we will not see our beautiful little girl again.
“We ask that you allow us to grieve in private and deal with our loss as a family.”
Drayton Manor Theme Park remained closed yesterday as a mark of respect and investigators from the Health and Safety Executive continued their work.
Jameah Academy, an integrated Islamic day school for girls, was also closed for the day, with counselling offered to pupils.
Zainab Mohammad, whose 16-year-old sister went on the trip, said the tight-knit school community had been devastated.
“It’s tragic,” she said. “We don’t know what the cause is but what we really want is for the family to be able to grieve.
“A family member has been ripped from their family and it’s a big loss. Everybody is in utter shock, there are no words. I couldn’t sleep last night, thinking of this.”
Asked how her sister was coping after the death, Ms Mohammad added: “She came home, she spoke to mum and dad and she just went upstairs. She was devastated. She didn’t want to talk about it. Nobody knows what’s happened. We can’t speculate on what has happened.” According to one parent, Evha fell from one of the boats when it hit a rock. “When the girl got up to change seats, just then it hit a rock and she got knocked out of the boat and fell in the water,” she said. “The currents dragged her in.” The parent, who asked not to be named, said the girl disap- peared from view after falling from the ride.
Jameah Academy spoke of “deepest sadness” on its website: “As a school community we are deeply shocked and our thoughts are with our pupil’s family and friends.
“The school will ensure specially trained staff are in school to provide our pupils and staff support at this difficult time.
“We would request that the family and the school community are given time to grieve.
“Please be assured that the safety and wellbeing of our pupils is our foremost priority. We are liaising with the relevant authorities and therefore we are unable to provide any further information at this time.”