Five fall to their deaths in park ride tragedy
Published: 14 Aug. 2007, 02:48
Firefighters rescue passengers yesterday from the Giant Wheel at the world’s largest touring amusement park in Busan. Five members of a family fell to their deaths when the gondola they were in collided with another car. [YONHAP]
According to Busan police, seven members of the family were riding in a gondola on the wheel when the tragedy occurred at 5:20 p.m. yesterday.
A spinning gondola became detached from the wheel and collided with another car. The collision opened the door of the second car, causing five members of the family to fall out.
Kim Si-youn, 68; her daughter-in-law, Byun Young-soon, 46; daughter, Jeon Ji-eun, 23; and grandson, Jeon Min-soo, 6; died immediately after they were moved to nearby hospitals.
Another of Kim’s daughters, Jeon Yoon-kyung, 26, was severely injured and died later in the hospital.
Kim’s husband Jeon Moon-sung, 70, and granddaughter, Jeon Ji-min, 8, stayed in the car and were rescued later by emergency workers.
The passengers in the gondola that malfunctioned were also rescued, along with passengers in two other gondolas. A total of 13 people survived the mishap.
The terrified riders had to remain inside the gondolas for two hours before they were rescued. The operation of the Giant Wheel was stopped immediately after the accident.
The World Carnival claims to be the largest “mobile amusement park” in the world.
The carnival, which is owned by the Seoul-based IEMG, has 26 assembled rides.
It arrived in Busan on July 23, for a 40-day scheduled stay. Prior to that it was in Hong Kong
The Giant Wheel, which carries 42 eight-seater gondolas, stands 66 meters high and is the biggest ride at the amusement park.
The company said on its Web site it has attracted 11 million people in in Asia since 2001.
Meanwhile, a short time after the Busan tragedy, a construction crane in operation at the Cheongnyangni train station in Seoul collapsed, killing two people waiting on the platform of the station.
The dead are a 67-year-old man and an 18-year-old female.
The crane also cut an electric line during its descent, suspending operations on the Gyeongwon Line.
By Kang Jin-kwon / Moon Gwang-lip
JoongAng Ilbo / Staff Writer
[joe@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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