People injured after ride 'fell to the floor without stopping' at Oakwood Theme Park

A number of people have been injured following an incident on a ride at Wales' largest theme park.

The Bounce ride at Oakwood Theme Park in Canaston Bridge, Pembrokeshire, experienced a "programmed emergency stop procedure" whilst in mid-fall on Wednesday, 10 July, the owners park said in a statement.

It added a number of people reported "minor lower back pain" and had to be attended to by a team of in-house first aiders.

An investigation is now under way into what happened on the ride, which re-opened at the park two years ago following a £400,000 refurbishment.Bounce is a drop tower-style ride which takes guests around 45-metres into the air, before dropping them back down again.

The park, which is the biggest in Wales, opened in 1987 on a family farm before being taken over by Spanish entertainment company Aspro Parks.

A visitor on board the ride when the incident happened said it "fell to the floor without slowing down".

They said school-age children were "screaming and crying" as the ride "went up and down a few times" before it "fell quickly to the ground from about halfway up the tower".The guest, who did not want to be named, claimed the way the incident was handled was "awful", and claimed they only stopped and helped people who "complained of pain or anything wrong".

They added: "There have been no apologies from the park, they only gave information for guest relations because we asked for it to take it further after the fact we were told no management was available."

A spokesperson for Oakwood Theme Park said: “During operation on Wednesday, our drop tower ride Bounce experienced a programmed Emergency Stop Procedure in response to the ride drop height during a guest cycle.

"The stoppage which resulted in the passenger gondola stopping in the ride brakes was attended to by our park team and the ride was lowered to the ground where guests were able to disembark."A number of guests reported minor lower back pain immediately after the occurrence and were attended to by our onsite team of First Aiders, where assistance was provided. One group sought additional treatment locally, whilst others continued their day at the park.

"Bounce will remain closed whilst we consult with the ride manufacturer.”

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