Ocean Park closes Skystar balloon ride

Hong Kong theme park Ocean Park is closing its helium balloon ride attraction, Skystar, following the detection of a defect during a routine safety inspection.
The flaw was identified as the cause of a mishap on the ride that injured five people at the end of June and is leading about 40 balloons at other theme parks worldwide being urgently checked for weak rip panels.
A report issued last week by the Hong Kong Government's Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) revealed that the rip panel, near the top of the balloon and used for its quick deflation in case of emergency, had an undetected tear that allowed the helium gas to escape.
This led to the incident on 28th June when the three-year-old French-manufactured attraction fell 20 metres to the ground.
Four passengers and the operator suffered minor injuries while a woman on the pathway near where the gondola landed had a head injury.
Seven park visitors and the operator were in the ride when the balloon failed.
The EMSD investigation found that "the right-hand edge of the rip panel tongue was detached from the right covering strip and split from the right-hand rip panel joint."
The report added that before the flight cycle of the incident, around 40 flight cycles were made that day, stating "no significant pressure drop was recorded before the incident, which indicated that there was no noticeable leakage of helium before the incident."
Commenting on the report, an Ocean Park spokesman stated "(the EMSD) report confirmed that Ocean Park had already fully complied with the manufacturer's routine inspection and maintenance schedule and procedures, and that the park's operation, maintenance, and cleaning of the balloon are ruled out as causes of the incident."
Ocean Park management have now contracted US ride safety consultancy firm PLH Consulting to conduct an independent investigation while Ocean Park Chairman Allan Zeman told media "the park will not continue with the Skystar attraction and plans to develop the current space into a venue for events and exhibitions to compliment the park's long-term developments."