Theme park reopens only 4 days after rollercoaster crash horror
A THEME park where seven children were injured after a rollercoaster derailed has reopened to the public only four days after the horrific crash.
Parents have called for M&D’s to be shut down, with a petition gathering more than 500 signatures in under 48 hours.
A major law firm claims the theme park in Motherwell, Lanarkshire, has been forced to pay around £100,000 in the past five years to injured visitors.
But yesterday, with three children still in hospital following Sunday’s crash, two of them in a serious condition, the attraction was again open for business. While the rides, including
‘Seems heartless and disrespectful’
the crashed Tsunami rollercoaster, remain closed, the indoor complex is welcoming visitors.
It is understood the complex will reopen entirely, with the possible exception of the Tsunami, once police and Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigations have finished.
Amy Thomas, whose three-year-old son Dylan was on a children’s ride below the rollercoaster when it derailed, criticised the move.
Mrs Thomas, 24, from Shotts, Lanarkshire, who set up the petition to close down the park on the website Change.org, said: ‘It has not even been a week since the people were injured at the theme park.
‘I don’t think this is at all appropriate when three people are still in hospital. It seems heartless and disrespectful to the people who have suffered these terrible injuries.
‘The operators of the park seem as if they are just trying to make money by reopening, and they seem only to care about making money despite what has happened.’
Dylan narrowly escaped being hit by the rollercoaster carriage and debris from the 40mph ride when it plunged 20 feet to the ground.
Yesterday HSE inspectors took the fallen carriage and other parts of the rollercoaster to its laboratory in Buxton, Derbyshire, for examination.
HSE has slapped a prohibition notice on the ride, which means it cannot be re-started until steps have been taken by M&D’s to confirm it is safe.
However the theme park, run by brothers Douglas and Matthew Taylor, opened its restaurant, coffee shop, tropical rainforest attraction Amazonia and other children’s facilities yesterday morning.
Last night Motherwell councillor Gary Rourke criticised the decision and said: ‘I find that a bit insensitive. Children are still seriously ill in hospital yet this firm feels the time is right for the fun to start again.’
A spokesman for M&D’s said: ‘M&D’s indoor facilities re-opened today. The theme park will remain closed until further notice.’