Theme park ride tragedy girl died after ‘standing to change seats’
THE heartbroken family of 11-yearold Evha Jannath wept for their “beautiful little girl” yesterday after she fell from her seat on a theme park water ride and was killed.
Evha could have been standing to swap seats when she plunged from the Splash Canyon ride during a school trip to Drayton Manor Theme Park, in Staffordshire, on Tuesday.
Evha, from Leicester, was pulled from the water and flown to Birmingham Children’s Hospital, where she later died.
The mother of a pupil at Evha’s feepaying day school said she fell from one of the boats when it hit a rock.
She said: “When Evha got up to change seats on the boat, just then it hit a rock.
“She then got knocked out of the boat and fell in the water and the water currents dragged her in.”
The parent, who asked not to be named, said Evha disappeared from after falling from the ride.
Yesterday the theme park closed as a mark of respect while the Health and Safety Executive investigated what caused the tragedy.
Evha’s family said in a statement: “She 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.”
Staffordshire Police said it was providing her family with support from specially-trained officers.
A witness told yesterday how paramedics fought to save Evha after she was airlifted to hospital.
Jessica Boulton, 24, was at Birmingham Children’s Hospital with her husband Andrew, 30, to hand over view money from a fundraising drive when the air ambulance touched down.
Mother Jessica said: “We were walking to the main entrance but were stopped because there were loads of police officers.
“I said to a policewoman jokingly that I’m not used to seeing police because we live in a sleepy area and she said it was because the road was closed for the air ambulance to land.
“Suddenly the air ambulance landed about 10 metres away from us and this little girl on a trolley was wheeled out.
“I broke down in tears and it was only when I heard on the news that this little girl had died at Drayton Manor that I realised exactly what I had seen.
“Those paramedics worked so hard to save her. You could see how drained they were.”
Yesterday Evha’s school, Jame’ah Girls’ Academy, was also closed, with counselling being offered to upset pupils.
The academy’s headteacher Erfana Bora said they were “trying to make sense of this terrible tragedy”.
Ms Bora said: “She was just a sweetnatured girl, loved by everyone.
“Our prayers are with Evha’s family at this difficult time.”
Suleman Nagdi, from the Federation of Muslim Organisations, said the outing was an annual event and there were “sufficient staff to marshal the trip”.
Drayton Manor’s company director George Bryan, whose grandfather opened the park in the 1950s, said that they were “truly devastated”.
The ride, which opened in 1993, has up to 21 boats which can each take six people. It offers a “a wild ride”, with “fast-flowing rapids”.