Funfair accident probe under way

The Move It ride (Picture by Kenny McIlroy) Enlarge Image

An investigation is under way into what caused a fairground ride to jam on Sunday leaving 18 people suspended in mid-air for about two hours.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said it would look at the cause of the accident and the emergency response.

Six women and 12 men were rescued from the Move It ride in Strathclyde Country Park in Motherwell, near Glasgow.

A spokesman for the HSE said that when a ride jams it can usually be restarted by a reset button.

"That doesn't appear to have happened," he added.

"One of our inspectors was at the site last night and will be returning again today," he said.

The 18 people stuck were aged between eight and 27-years-old.

They were suspended 20ft off the ground when the ride became stuck at about 2045 GMT.

Strathclyde Fire and Rescue managed to bring passengers upright before freeing them one by one by about 2330 BST.

A 27-year-old man was taken to hospital suffering from shock.

We asked for comments from readers who witnessed the rescue.

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I was at the park after the fireworks display for over an hour and the whole time the ride was stuck upside down. For most of that time the ride mechanics were working on the arm that held the seated area upside down and I never did get to see them get it upright. I would have expected more contingency for this type of incident.
Chris West, East Kilbride, Scotland

the ride broke down about 8.20 & the kids were hung upside down for over an hour & a half. they did not let the ride down in stages. they finally cut the hydraulic feed & seated area just dropped. i'm surprised none of the kids suffered injuries from the jolt of being thrown.

the first boy to be freed was suffering panic attacks.

M&D's (which is also situated in Strathclyde Country Park) is a large attraction. The fire brigade should have been more prepared for something like this to happen.
julie Rodger, Stonehouse

I was at the fireworks display in Strathclyde park and was in the crowd waiting to cross the footbridge from Motherwell to Hamilton, when several ambulances and fire engines tried to get through the crowd. The crowd was blocking the only route to the fairground area and may have cost the emergency services valuable time. Further planning for emeregency routes may be required in the future.
Andy, Hamilton, Scotland

Me and my husband were there last night and the ride stuck when we arrived at 8.15pm and we thought it was part of the ride, then when we passed the ride after the display it was stuck again only more serious this time.
Evonne Gaittens, Motherwell