Woman dies after 20-foot fall from rollercoaster
A 24-year-old woman died after falling from a rollercoaster just seconds after she went on the ride.
Citing authorities, The Times of India reported that Priyanka Rawat went to the Fun N Food Water & Amusement Park in Delhi with her fiancé Nikhil Singh, 26, when the incident happened on April 3 at around 6:15 p.m.
Rawat suffered fatal injuries after falling from about 20 feet from the ride, which included at least 16 other people.
The rollercoaster was shut down immediately pending investigation.
Singh, who was about to get married to Rawat in 10 months, told the police that the accident happened "within seconds" after the ride started.
"Around 12:15 p.m., Priyanka and I went to an amusement park in Kapashera on a scooter from her house in Chanakyapuri," Singh is quoted as saying in his police complaint. "We arrived around 1 p.m. and enjoyed the water rides until about 6 p.m. After that, we went to the amusement rides area, where we went straight to the rollercoaster. The operators there sent Piyanka and me up together. My fiancée was seated directly next to me. Then the ride started and within seconds, she fell to the ground."
According to Rawat's medical documents, she had lacerations on her right leg, puncture wounds on her left leg, and multiple abrasions on her right forearm and left knee.
Per The Times of India report, investigation showed that the primary cause of the incident was a malfunctioning seatbelt.
Rawat was taken to a nearby hospital, but was declared dead on arrival.
Authorities questioned the ride operator, supervisor, and operations manager to determine what went wrong. They're looking into conduction a mechanical inspection of the rollercoaster.
"The investigation into the incident is ongoing. We have collected the CCTV footage and questioned the staff," an officer said.
The police filed cases related to negligent conduct with respect to machinery and causing death by negligence.
Despite what happened, the park opened on the weekend of April 5 and 6.
Santokh Singh Chawla, the park's owner and adviser, said it was the first time that such an accident happened in its 33 years of operations.
Chawla noted they're cooperating with the investigation.
