Azteca Noticias/TwitterTwo men have died after a rollercoaster car derailed and plunged to the ground at a Mexican theme park.
As reported by Sky News, the incident took place at La Feria de Chapultepec amusement park in Mexico City on Saturday (September 28).
In footage uploaded by Azteca Noticias, you can see the last car on the ride coming off the tracks.
The harrowing footage can be seen below:
Este es el momento exacto en el que descarrilar un juego mecánico en la Feria de Chapultepec. Se reportan al menos dos muertos. pic.twitter.com/347tL5vElj
— Azteca Noticias (@AztecaNoticias) September 28, 2019
Both victims, males aged 18 and 21, died of head and other injuries following the incident. Two women – aged 27 and 35 – were reportedly taken to Angeles Mocel hospital, where they are said to be in a stable condition.
It’s reported that several more injured people are suffering as a result of the fault on the Quimera ride – six people are said to be receiving treatment for shock.
The video, albeit brief, shows the final car turning upside down off of the track as it races by the onlookers.
Secretaría de Gestión Integral de Riesgos y PC/TwitterAccording to El Universal, a trader at the park reported seeing riders hit their heads as well as a passenger being thrown from the car as the decades-old coaster barreled ahead on the track.
One witness to the incident told local media:
Something crashed too loudly, the carts were going up, so when the last cart comes it suffered a breakdown and two people were already injured.
I didn’t see it fall, we saw when it had crashed and the last two people were already injured, full of blood.
Emergency services were seen at the scene, with the park being temporarily shut down as an investigation continues into exactly what caused the incident. According to El Universal, the park will be shut for between one and two weeks.
Secretaría de Gestión Integral de Riesgos y PC/TwitterMiriam Urzua, from the civil protection organisation, told Reuters:
This is now in the hands of prosecutors, and prosecutors have already taken the necessary steps for an investigation.
A vendor from the park told El Universal that the fault with the coaster had allegedly been reported, however it was never attended to.
A spokesman for the attorney general’s office told Sky News that initial investigations indicate a mechanical failure caused the carriage to come loose and fall from a height of 10m.
Authorities are said to be treating the tragic event as a case of negligent homicide.
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After graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University with an NCTJ and BCTJ-accredited Multimedia Journalism degree, Cameron ventured into the world of print journalism at The National, while also working as a freelance film journalist on the side, becoming an accredited Rotten Tomatoes critic in the process. He’s now left his Scottish homelands and took up residence at UNILAD as a journalist.