Family ‘torn apart’ by girl’s death on theme park ride
THE family of an 11-year-old girl who died in a theme park fall have said they 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 park in Tamworth, Staffordshire, on Tuesday.
Police said Evha was pulled from the water and received life support from ambulance crews before she was flown to Birmingham Children’s Hospital, where she died.
The family said: “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.
“Evha was a beautiful little girl who was full of love and always smiling.
“Words cannot describe the pain and loss we feel.”
The park remained shut yesterday as a mark of respect, and while investigators from the Health and Safety Executive continued their work. Jameah Academy, an Islamic school for girls, was also closed.
According to one parent at the school, Evha fell from the boat when it hit a rock just as she had got up to change seats.
Zainab Mohammad, whose 16-year-old sister went on the trip, said the school had been devastated by the tragedy.
The 26-year-old said: “It’s tragic. A family member has been ripped from their family and it’s a big loss. Everybody is in utter shock, there are no words.”
Drayton Manor’s company director, George Bryan, whose grandfather opened the park in the 1950s, said they were “truly shocked and devastated” by the death.
One mother said her young son had to be rescued after falling into the water from the same ride in 2013.
Vikki Treacy said her son Patrick, 10, was “jolted” out of a boat.
She told BBC 5 Live he was half-standing up on the ride when he was thrown “headfirst” into the water. He was pulled to safety by a member of the public.
Ms Treacy said: “I was just horrified to think that the same thing had happened again.
“Fortunately, though, my child survived and was able to climb out with the help of the public.
”He sort of panicked and he couldn’t get out on the rocks because they were all slippery.
“It was quite fortunate where my son fell – had it been somewhere else I don’t think it would have been the same outcome.” POLITICAL parties are failing to come clean on their planned tax rises and spending cuts before the General Election, a highly-respected think-tank has warned.
The Resolution Foundation accused parties of acting as if they had “forgotten” the UK’s Budget deficit.
The warning came as a new analysis suggested Labour’s plans for a £10-an-hour minimum wage could endanger jobs and create “considerable” negative long-term consequences for younger workers.
The party’s proposal to raise corporation tax to invest in education south of the Border could also lead to lower wages for workers, experts warned.
Torsten Bell, director of the Resolution Foundation, said: “Having dominated the last two elections, the issue of the deficit has now fallen off the radar. But it remains a very important issue, determining the policies the next government will pursue from public services to tax, the debt level we leave to the future, and the way in which we respond to the big issues of our time – from Brexit to an ageing society. It’s time to pay some attention to the deficit this election forgot.”
Matt Whittaker, chief economist at the Resolution Foundation, said the current level of uncertainty was unacceptable.
“Voters deserve more clarity than they’re currently getting from the main political parties,” he said.
Theresa May has pledged not to increase VAT above 20 per cent, but has not made the same commitment on either national insurance or income tax.
Labour has pledged an income tax freeze for those earning below £80,000, as well as “modest” rises for the five per cent who earn more, putting the party at odds with Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale who has called for a 1p tax increase on the basic 20p and higher 40p rates.
Both parties will unveil their manifestos next week.