After a fatal fall from the roller coaster at the Klotten amusement park in Rhineland-Palatinate, the police continued their investigation on Monday. Traces had already been secured and witnesses questioned, the investigators said. Speculations about a technical defect, negligence or carelessness said that the cause of the accident remained unknown for the time being. It will be determined in all directions. In the case of deaths of this kind, public prosecutors can also order the involvement of experts and the autopsy of the victims.
On Saturday afternoon, a 57-year-old woman fell from the moving roller coaster. She suffered fatal injuries. Attempts at resuscitation were unsuccessful. A rescue helicopter and the rescue service were on site as well as the volunteer fire brigade, but nobody could do anything more for the woman from St. Wendel in Saarland.
The amusement park advertises the 532 meter long roller coaster with a height of 17.5 meters as a “hot ride” on its website and on YouTube. On a video you can see that the ups and downs of the roller coaster partly lead through a kind of artificial gorge. From the higher positions of the railway, on the other hand, you can see the surrounding mountain ranges.
The trip is “not for the faint-hearted”, it is assured there. “A lot of curves, a maximum incline and speeds of up to 60 kilometers per hour, it can take your breath away and your heart leave its usual place. But everything will be fine: once you have mastered the 550-metre course, nothing can shock you, at least on this day.”
The park was opened in 1970 as a wildlife park on the Moselle heights near Klotten, according to the website. Since the 1990s, it has been expanded into a leisure and family park with new attractions. The roller coaster opened accordingly in 2004.
According to its own statements, the park remained closed on Monday, as it had on Sunday, “to support the authorities in quickly clarifying the course of the accident”. The theme park’s website said: “We would like to take this opportunity to express our deepest sympathy to the family, relatives and friends! Our KLOTTI team is still shocked and stunned.” Because the cause of the accident was initially unclear, it remains unclear “how parking operations will look like in the next few days”.
Despite all safety measures and technical measures: Fatal accidents with roller coasters or in amusement parks may be rare, but they attract special attention when the thrill ends fatally.
