Design Defect Blamed for Space Ride Tragedy

A fatal amusement park accident in Shenzen, south China in June this year, was due to a design fault, according to an official report released this week.

The accident at the Overseas Chinese Town East (OCT East) amusement park, which killed six and injured 10, occurred on the Space Journey ride - which simulates the conditions of a rocket launch. The incident saw the ride spin wildly out-of-control after a screw bolt between the supporting system of the simulator and the piston rod snapped.

According to the report by the administrative bureau of work safety of Yantian District of Shenzhen, bad design had made checking and maintaining the screw bolt difficult, which resulted in the bolt's wear and tear and eventual break,

Although the danger was noticed during installation, no effective measures were taken to eliminate the risk, the report said.

The Space Journey ride functioned by elevating and spinning 11 cabins each carrying four passengers. In the accident, one cabin collided with three other cabins as it plummeted to the ground.

The simulator was designed in China and produced by the Jiuhua Amusement Rides Manufacturing Co. Ltd in Beijing, according to a report by the Beijing Youth Daily. It went into trial operation on 1st May 2009 and passed its annual safety inspection this March, the newspaper said.

The OCT East amusement park covers an area of nine square kilometres and is operated by OCT Enterprises Co, a state-owned company involved in real estate and hotel development, tourism, and electronics manufacturing.

The booming southern city of Shenzhen is a one-hour drive north of Hong Kong. 

19th March 2010 - TIGER DEATHS LEAD TO CHINESE ZOO CLOSURE