The 26th of July 2017 was a blissful Summer Day in Ohio, and around 76 000 people decided that the day should be spent at the annual Ohio State Fair, according to the fair's website. However, as the rides were going, the food was cooking, and people were enjoying the summer sun, disaster struck. The "Fire Ball" ride suddenly basically fell apart, killing one young man and injuring seven other people. An investigation has taken place, and it has since between determined that the ride was severely corroded and that several safety checks had failed to notice this corrosion.
What happened?
According to CNN, the "Fire Ball" ride consists of 6 rows of seats, all connected to a main structure. The seats spin around 40 feet about the ground as the entire structure moves like a pendulum. Eyewitness, Rhonda Burgess told CNN that as the ride was in motion, one of the rows of seats became detached and the riders fell out of their seats. The riders then fell to the ground, landing on their backs. A video of the ride, moments before disaster struck, can be seen here.
NBC News reported that one of the riders, an 18-year-old man by the name of Tyler Jarrell, was killed after falling 40 feet to the ground. Jarrell was going to start his Marine training early next year. Several others were all seriously injured in the fall.
Other bystanders were hurt by the flying pieces of debris from the broken ride. Many of those injured were still in hospital as of last week, with one woman still in a coma.
The investigation
KMG, the Dutch manufacturer of the ride has been inspecting the ride and has since declared that the 18-year-old ride's strength was severely diminished by the massive amount of corrosion that it had experienced.
They have since shut down similar rides around the world.
Michael Vartorella, chief ride inspector for Ohio's Division of Amusement Ride Safety said on Sunday that the ride had undergone three inspections before the Fair and that none of them showed the excessive inner beam corrosion.According to Fox News, Ohio Gov. John Kasich has shut down all the rides at the State Fair until a more in-depth inspection has taken place.
According to CNN, there have been 22 amusement park related deaths and close on 100,000 amusement park injuries since 2010. Perhaps we need to reconsider before jumping onto a roller coaster again anytime soon. Our thoughts are with the families of those who suffered at the Ohio State Fair on 26 June 2017.
