Wood Coaster Grips Riders in Real Horror
By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
A wooden roller coaster at Everland, the country’s largest outdoor amusement park, lost power and left frightened riders stranded for about 10 minutes last Saturday.
While the “T Express” was climbing the track, the machine came to a sudden stop and 36 riders had to cling on to their carriages, 50-meters above ground, for 10 minutes.
Emergency workers were sent to the scene and rescued passengers by assisting them down stairs beside the roller coaster rails.
Everland said that the roller coaster is very sensitive and so it automatically stops in response to any sign of trouble. It said some material stuck in the rails seemed to have caused the accident. It is investigating the exact cause of the accident.
The accident came just nine days after the grand opening of what the theme park says is the world’s steepest and nation’s fastest roller coaster.
The “T Express,’’ introduced on March 14, has 1.6 kilometer track, the longest in the nation, and is 56 meters high, the highest in the country. It’s also the fastest in Asia, at 104 kilometers per hour, according to the theme park.
Early last year, a woman died after falling from one of the rides at Everland.
Another indoor theme park, Lotte World, has also had several accidents due to poor safety management, with a man killed after falling from a roller coaster last year.
By Kang Shin-whoStaff ReporterA wooden roller coaster at Everland, the country’s largest outdoor amusement park, lost power and left frightened riders stranded for about 10 minutes last Saturday.While the “T Express” was climbing the track, the machine came to a sudden stop and 36 riders had to cling on to their carriages, 50-meters above ground, for 10 minutes.Emergency workers were sent to the scene and rescued passengers by assisting them down stairs beside the roller coaster rails.Everland said that the roller coaster is very sensitive and so it automatically stops in response to any sign of trouble. It said some material stuck in the rails seemed to have caused the accident. It is investigating the exact cause of the accident.The accident came just nine days after the grand opening of what the theme park says is the world’s steepest and nation’s fastest roller coaster.The “T Express,’’ introduced on March 14, has 1.6 kilometer track, the longest in the nation, and is 56 meters high, the highest in the country. It’s also the fastest in Asia, at 104 kilometers per hour, according to the theme park.Early last year, a woman died after falling from one of the rides at Everland.Another indoor theme park, Lotte World, has also had several accidents due to poor safety management, with a man killed after falling from a roller coaster last year.
