Theme park staff ‘took 11 minutes’ to find girl flung from water ride

A SCHOOLGIRL died after she joked with friends about who “could get the wettest” then was thrown from a theme park river rapid ride, an inquest heard.

Evha Jannath, 11, was thrown from the Splash Canyon water ride at Drayton Manor Theme Park in Tamworth, Staffs, on May 9 2017.

A teacher was meant to be on the ride with Evha and her friends, an inquest heard yesterday, but she did not board because she had to stay with one of the schoolchildren who chose not to go on the ride.

Teachers at Jameah Girls Academy, Leicester, said they agreed it was “safe” for the children to go on the ride themselves, as per height restrictions.

Evha, who was unable to swim, initially fell into water up to her thighs.

Appearing uninjured, she was then shown on CCTV wading along the edge of the ride route, towards the exit platform, trying to get back to her friends.

Her schoolmates were shouting back towards Evha, while a member of the public, standing at the ride course’s barrier a few feet above the girl, told her to stop where she was.

The youngster, who was still in the water, carried on wading, and then attempted to climb the ride’s “travelator”, which lifts the ride vessels up out of the water, to an exit platform.

But as she climbed wooden planks on the mechanism, she fell off the side into a “much deeper” area of water.

After pupils and the public raised the alarm, theme park staff began a search.

Some 11 minutes after staff were alerted, Evha was spotted face down in the water. It was another six minutes before staff were able to pull her out, when she was described as “lifeless”.

A post mortem examination originally revealed she died as a result of catastrophic blunt force trauma chest injuries, but forensic pathologists have since concluded that she drowned.

The inquest at Stafford Coroners Court heard how she suffered a number of external and internal injuries, including a broken pelvis and organ damage to her heart and lungs.

Aaminah Rasid Isat, one of Evha’s teachers, said she was “appalled” at the reaction of staff who appeared to do nothing when the alarm was raised.

She said she was told by a member of staff they were “doing all they could”, but told the inquest: “The male member of staff looked quite calm. I would assume that when we told them someone was missing, I would expect them to be alarmed a bit quicker.”

One of Evha’s classmates told police she tried to tell the group to obey the signs saying to stay seated.

But the pupil said Evha remained standing and fell out of the vessel shortly afterwards.

The inquest is due to last two weeks.