Amusement parks are designed to bring people joy, adrenaline, and positive emotions. However, if you look at the facts, everything is not always so enchanting. This collection contains terrifying and tragic incidents in amusement parks: on water and roller coasters, the Ferris wheel and even in the House of Horrors. Many of them occurred due to technical failures, others simply because of “bad luck.” 
1. Scary incident at the carousel in Omaha, USA 
On May 5, 2016, a tragedy occurred at a fair in Omaha, USA. 11-year-old Elizabeth Gilreath was injured when, during a ride on the carousel, the girl's hair got stuck between the rotating parts, tearing off her scalp and damaging her eyes. After going through dozens of operations, the girl survived and is still recovering from her injuries.
2. Incident at the Tower ride, USA 
In June 2007, 13-year-old Caitlin Lassiter survived an accident on the Superman: Tower of Power ride at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom in Kentucky. This is a tall tower that simulates free fall. When the ride was launched, one of its cables broke and struck passengers. Caitlin was the worst hit - the cable wrapped around her legs and severely injured her ankles. As a result, the girl had one leg amputated below the knee. The second leg was saved.
3. Dragon ride, USA 
In 1989, 6-year-old Ryan Beckstead unbuckled his seat belt after his first lap on the Puff the Little Fire Dragon ride at Lagoon Park in Utah, USA. The boy thought that the trip was over - but the train moved on. Ryan fell off the train and got stuck on the tracks. As the ride made its next round, it hit the boy, causing his death. The girl operator of the attraction did everything possible to stop him, but due to the nature of the attraction, she was unable to do so. During the investigation, lawyers did not find grounds to initiate criminal proceedings against the park Lagoon Corp or the operator.
4. Incident at Lightwater Valley, Britain 
In 2001, a horrific incident occurred on the Treetop Twister roller coaster at Lightwater Valley amusement park in North Yorkshire, UK. The attraction had only been in operation for 4 weeks when it suffered a fatal breakdown - two carriages collided during the ride. One of them did not reach the U-turn. At this point, the electrician decided to use manual control to eliminate the delay - but his actions turned out to be disastrous. Due to the collision, one of the passengers suffered head and neck injuries and died the next day.
5. Incident at Discovery Cove, USA 
In 2010, 59-year-old Briton Keith Clarke cut his toe on a piece of coral while swimming at the Discovery Cove marine theme park in Florida. A man with hemophilia developed complications after being shot. Three days later, he collapsed at the airport on the way home and was rushed to hospital in England. Surgeons tried to save him by amputating his legs below the knee. Unfortunately, Clark's organs failed and he passed away.
6. Falling off a wheel in Warrington park, England 
Salma Salim, a 15-year-old girl with Down syndrome, fell more than 6 meters from a Ferris wheel at Gulliver's World theme park in July 2002. The girl died as a result of a head injury. As a result of the investigation, it turned out that the girl asked to be seated in the same booth with her mother, but park employees considered her too large and ordered her to sit in a separate booth. The park was accused of violating safety regulations.
7. Fatal water roller coaster ride, UK 
This incident took place in Oakwood Park in the UK. While riding the Hydro water roller coaster, 16-year-old Hayley Williams was thrown off the ride and fell 30 meters. She died from her injuries. The park was fined £250,000 after it was found that staff did not regularly check the ride's seat belts and bars. It was closed for a year and then relaunched under a new name.
8. Assault on Lane Graves 
In June 2016, the American Graves family vacationed in Disneyland. It was 9:30 pm and all the guests were watching the fireworks by the lake. Parents allowed their two-year-old son Lane to play on the shore of the lake, but the boy was suddenly attacked by an alligator and dragged away from the shore. Lane's father rushed to his son and tried to fight the alligator, but his attempts were in vain. The next day, divers found Lane's body, but they killed five alligators to remove it.
9. Roller coaster incident at Six Flags, USA 
In June 2008, the Batman ride at Six Flags Over Georgia claimed the life of 17-year-old Leeshawn Ferguson. While riding a roller coaster, Ferguson accidentally lost his cap and climbed over two fences into a restricted area, ignoring warning signs. The guy was hit to death by a trolley approaching at a speed of 80 km/h.
10. Incident on the Big Thunder roller coaster at Disneyland, USA 
On September 5, 2003, the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad roller coaster at Disneyland, USA suffered a major breakdown. During the passage of the covered section, the rear wheels of one of the carriages flew off. A boy, Marcelo Torres, died due to a collision with other carriages. The California Department of Occupational Safety and Health later confirmed that the accident occurred because operators did not follow instructions.
11. Ocean Park water park, Hong Kong, China 
In 2017, China's Ocean Park launched a haunted house-style attraction called Buried Alive, where visitors are supposed to find a way out of a grave. However, one of the visitors, a 21-year-old guy, could not find a way out. Finding himself in a closed area, the young man fell under a mechanical coffin - he was crushed to death.
12. Tragedy in the Japanese park "Expoland" 
On May 5, 2007, on the day of Children's Day in Japan, a disaster occurred in the Japanese Expoland park. The Fujin-Raijin II roller coaster, which reaches a speed of 75 km/h and has operated for 15 years without any problems, has broken down. The wheel axle of one of the carriages broke, causing six carriages to derail and collide with a road barrier. One woman died and 18 other people were injured. As it turned out later, the broken axle had not undergone inspection and maintenance for 15 years.
13. Tragedy at the Schlitterbahn water park, Kansas, USA 
On August 7, 2016, Caleb Thomas Schwab, the 10-year-old son of a Kansas congressman, died while going down the world's tallest water slide, Verrückt. He boarded a three-seater raft with two women (they sat behind the boy, which, as was later determined, was the cause of the tragedy). Due to the uneven distribution of weight, the raft became airborne when it reached one of the bends on the descent. Caleb was thrown and collided with the net above the slide. Due to the force of the collision at a speed of approximately 112 km/h, the boy was decapitated. After the incident, the slide was closed and completely dismantled.
14. Incident in La Feria Park, Mexico City, Mexico
The Quimera triple loop roller coaster, built in 1984 and reaching speeds of almost 85 km/h, was the most famous in Mexico's La Feria park. On a fateful day in 2019, one of the carriages derailed and capsized along with 4 passengers. Two boys, aged 18 and 21, died in the fall, while two female passengers survived but were seriously injured.
15. Tragedy at the Mission: Space attraction at Disneyland, USA
The Mission: Space attraction at Disneyland is a stimulator based on a centrifuge that rotates and simulates the sensations of the launch and flight of a spacecraft. During the construction of the attraction, technology was used to train NASA astronauts. In 2005-2006, park employees encountered more than 200 incidents on this attraction: passengers lost consciousness, experienced chest pains and rapid heartbeats. During this time, two people died. First, a five-year-old child who died from heart failure after riding an attraction. The second case occurred 10 months later: a 49-year-old woman complained of nausea and dizziness after a trip. Although park employees examined her and assured her that these were normal symptoms, once she was taken to the hospital, she died of a brain hemorrhage.
16. Fateful day in Kings Island Park, USA
On June 9, 1991, a man fell into a pond at the Kings Island amusement park in Ohio. His friend and a park employee tried to save him - but both died as a result of electric shock. A few hours later, 32-year-old Candy Taylor died after falling from the Flight Commander roller coaster.
17. Incident at the Cyclone attraction, Cincinnati, USA
The wooden roller coaster Cyclone was built in Cincinnati State Park in 1927 and was added to the US National Register of Historic Places. There have been multiple injuries and at least three deaths reported on the wobbly slide. As a result of the latest incident, 53-year-old Keith Shirasawa died: the man broke his neck due to the high speed of the first descent of the slide. Shirasawa was taken to the hospital, but died a few days later from complications.
18. Rough Riders slide
This roller coaster opened in the USA in 1915. The attraction differed from modern roller coasters in that each carriage had its own driver. Once, during acceleration, one carriage derailed, and passengers were thrown into an iron fence at a high altitude. Three people died as a result of the fall. Only the mother and her 4-year-old child survived, who managed to cling to the railing of the carriage.
19. Mall roller coaster incident, Canada
In 1986, The Mindbender, the world's tallest indoor roller coaster, was installed at the West Edmonton Mall in Canada. On June 14, 1986, due to poor quality construction and irresponsible maintenance, the carriage derailed and the passengers' seat belts became unfastened. Four people ended up on the concrete floor of the shopping center. Three died, and the only survivor, Rod Chayko, later erected a memorial to the dead passengers.
20. "Action Park", New Jersey, USA
Action Park in New Jersey had one of the worst reputations of any amusement park in history. Hundreds of people were injured on his water slides. At least six people have died in the park's history, including three drownings, one from electrocution, and one from a heart attack believed to be caused by the shock of falling into cold water. The park was closed in 1998, but a few years later it was opened under a new name - Mountain Creek.
21. Incident on a water slide in Australia
This incident occurred on October 25, 2016 at the Dreamworld Thunder River Rapids water slide in Queensland, Australia. The water level on the attraction dropped due to a pump malfunction - and a round raft carrying six passengers overturned and fell under the conveyor mechanism. Four passengers died. Two children managed to escape.
22. Krug Park Roller Coaster Incident
On July 24, 1930, a roller coaster broke down at Krug Park in the United States. While riding, a bolt broke and four carriages derailed and fell to the ground. Four people were killed and 17 more were injured. This incident remains the most tragic in American amusement parks. The park itself was closed a few years later.
23. World's worst roller coaster accident, London
On May 30, 1972, the world's worst roller coaster accident occurred, the Big Dipper at a London fair. As the trailers were ascending to the first peak, the traction cable and emergency brake failed. The carriages rolled backwards, derailed and went through a fence. Five people died (all children), another 13 were injured.
24. Tragedy at Luna Park in Sydney, Australia
On June 9, 1979, the indoor Ghost Train ride at Luna Park in Sydney caught fire. As a result of the tragedy, seven people died, six of whom were children. The fire destroyed the entire attraction because it did not have a fire sprinkler system installed.
25. Fire in a haunted house, USA
On May 11, 1984, a fire occurred in the American park Six Flags Great Adventure (New Jersey). The Haunted Castle caught fire, trapping 29 passengers inside. The attraction, made mostly of flammable materials, burst into flames within minutes. Eight teenagers died. This is again due to the lack of a fire sprinkler system.
