A Corentyne resident, who took his family to the Tom and Jerry Play Centre at the Esplanade Park in New Amsterdam last Tuesday, has come forward to recount their “scary experience” with the rollercoaster ride and to urge the organisers to put proper safety measures in place.
The man who went with two other families said their four children were on the rollercoaster around 6.30 pm last Tuesday when the cars suddenly came off the tracks and the ride ground to a halt. Within 15 minutes, he said, he and three workers of the amusement fair climbed up about ten feet to rescue the children, who were panicking. He said the ride remained stuck for over one hour.
According to him, “If the children were coming down on the steep they could have been thrown off and the situation could have been tragic.”
He opined that the rollercoaster was not properly aligned and that was what caused it “derail.” He beseeched the organizers to “put safety precautions in place to prevent such an occurrence.”
The man told Stabroek News that he had bought tickets for other rides but after the rollercoaster debacle, he was furious and he returned the tickets and demanded his money back. He said he left shortly after with his family.
The Corentyne resident also said that one of his friends had a similar encounter on another ride. “The belt on that ride was cut and the ride only pivoted halfway. They told my friend that they would fix it and give him another ride but he refused because he was scared.”
Meanwhile, two persons were injured on Friday night and had to be hospitalized at the New Amsterdam Hospital when they plummeted about six feet from the rollercoaster ride. They were also given monetary compensation by officials of the amusement fair.
An official who wished to remain anonymous told this newspaper that Friday’s incident was as a result of rain. According to him, visitors to the amusement park were told that they could not go on the rollercoaster until one and a half hours after the rain had stopped.
But he said just about half hour after it had stopped raining they insisted on riding, saying that they had already purchased their tickets for the ride.
The official said he did not let them go on right away but tested it by riding in it five times to make sure it was safe. He also said that other patrons used the ride seven times before the accident occurred.
He told Stabroek News that what had happened was unfortunate because the rollercoaster was one of the favourite rides. He said each ride had an employee who was responsible for checking it every day.
However, the Corentyne patron said that while he could not say if it had rained when the persons fell off the rollercoaster, rain was not the issue when the ride stuck with the children last Tuesday. (Shabna Ullah)
