[Marcus.]

Four people have been seriously injured after two carriages on The Smiler rollercoaster at Alton Towers collided.

According to the West Midlands Ambulance Service, there were 16 people riding in one carriage on the attraction when the crash happened just after 2pm.

It is believed the passengers crashed into a stationary carriage which was empty at the time.

Danny Simm, who was at the Staffordshire theme park when the accident happened, tweeted: "People unconscious, knocked out. Blood everywhere. It really was shocking. Air ambulances landing now, people still stuck."

Lloyd Coller, who was visiting Alton Towers for the day, told Sky News: "I didn’t actually see it but I heard it. It sounded exactly like a car crash – just metal on metal."

Another witness, Tom Whelton, said that The Smiler had also broken down three hours earlier following technical difficulties.

An air ambulance has arrived at the scene with a trauma doctor on board, and everyone on board the ride is receiving triage.

Four road ambulances, accompanied by senior paramedic managers, have also arrived on the scene to cope with the potential casualties.

A spokeswoman added: "Ambulance staff and medics are working quickly with resort staff to gain access to the seriously injured."

In a statement, Alton Towers said: "There has been an incident on the Smiler this afternoon involving two carriages coming together on a low section of the track. One of the carriages was empty and the other had 16 guests in.

The resort’s fully qualified first responders were on the scene immediately to assist with the evacuation which is ongoing, and the area has been closed to allow for access to emergency services vehicles.

"To ensure the safe and timely evacuation of guests, a platform is being constructed. This will take a few minutes but will enable us to proceed more quickly.

"There will be a full investigation once we have recovered the guests, who are our priority."

According to the official website of The Smiler, the £18m ride is the world's first 14 looping rollercoaster.

It opened in May 2013 - and the ride was affected by two incidents within the space of just six months.

Two months after it opened, in July, a metal bolt fell off the ride - leaving a gap in the track. Some 48 people had to be rescued.

Then, in November 2013, passengers sat in the front seats of the ride were hit when several of the rollercoaster's wheels fell off.

The resort claims the ride features "a series of twisted psychological effects including optical illusions, blinding lights and near-misses designed to mess with your mind".

[Pete.]

Pray for them

[arista]

[Four people have been seriously injured after two carriages on the Smiler rollercoaster
at Alton Towers collided this afternoon.Four people have been seriously injured
after two carriages on the Smiler rollercoaster at Alton Towers collided this afternoon.]


A empty carriage just sitting there?
Who the feck is in charge?



http://news.sky.com/story/1494944/ca...rs-smiler-ride

[LukeB]

hope they are ok!

[Marcus.]

yeah hope it not likes this at October

[Pete.]

Wowza it was going 55mph

[LukeB]

i'm going soon and I want to ride the smiler but so many bad things happened to it

[Marcus.]

Originally Posted by LukeB

i'm going soon and I want to ride the smiler but there's so many bad things happened on it

if i may when you going to alton towers

[Vanessa]

Originally Posted by LukeB

i'm going soon and I want to ride the smiler but so many bad things happened to it

Don't go on it. Sounds dangerous.

[Kizzy]

[Marcus.]

Originally Posted by Vanessa

Don't go on it. Sounds dangerous.

all over the news channels ness

[LukeB]

Originally Posted by Marcus.

if i may when you going to alton towers

September/October it's quiet around then

Originally Posted by Vanessa

Don't go on it. Sounds dangerous.

They should get rid of it or make it safe

[Marcus.]

Originally Posted by LukeB

September/October it's quiet around then

They should get rid of it or make it safe

oh cool i am going for scarefest
people are saying it may close for a long time

[Jamesy]

Don't let this put you off. Incidents like this are extremely rare in the theme park industry, the last one I can recall was in 2004 in Germany.

The Smiler is the newest ride at Alton Towers and it has extremely sophisticated technology to ensure it stays safe for the public. This incident will of course come as a complete shock to Alton Towers and the theme park industry as a whole. This will be down to a major error on the computer system that gives clearance for trains to go through sections of the ride. On The Smiler there are a multitude of sensors that separate 'sections' of the ride, the sensors work with the rides computer system to ensure only one train is in one section at a time. So this certainly points towards a major computer error which is very rare for a modern ride.

Usually with incidents like this the ride is closed for months when a full investigation is underway. So expect the same with this.

I have a feeling they might try open it for Scarefest though depending how lengthy the investigation process is.

Just to stress this is an extremely rare case. Just like airplanes, coasters like this are the safest form of rides in the entire world. So while this being in the news is alarming, it's not commonplace. Alton Towers is well known to be one of the best theme parks in the world when it comes to health and safety.

[T*]

I don't get why this thread has been abandoned, this is huge news, it's ****ing horrible omg
Hope all will be okay

[T*]

There's live pics of the rescue on bbc news rn

[Pete.]

Originally Posted by Tøm

There's live pics of the rescue on bbc news rn

nnn let the people live

[T*]

Originally Posted by Petemitch

nnn let the people live

It's good we're actually getting updates because Alton towers were being quiet about it

[Pete.]

Originally Posted by Tøm

It's good we're actually getting updates because Alton towers were being quiet about it

I think they should let the injured be attended to without media interference.

[Pete.]

But yh Alton Towers should be saying more, I think they've set up a hotline

[arista]

Boy Injured

[arista]

Helicopters taking away injured

[RichardG]

hope everyone is ok... being involved in a rollercoaster crash must be really really horrible, you go on them for fun, you don't expect this stuff to happen.

Originally Posted by Jamesy

Don't let this put you off. Incidents like this are extremely rare in the theme park industry. Just to stress this is an extremely rare case. Just like airplanes, coasters like this are the safest form of rides in the entire world.

Yeah I always read you were significantly more likely to get involved in a car crash on the way to the theme park than on an actual ride within the park... though I'm sure that's no consolation to those involved in the accident today!!

[T*]

Someone is rumoured dead

[Denver]

Originally Posted by Tøm

Someone is rumoured dead

This is a real life accident not a soap opera