10 Hurt When Roller Coaster Crashes Near Children's Attraction at Scottish Theme Park

Police say 8 children and two adults were injured.

ByABC News
June 26, 2016, 5:26 PM

— -- An inverted roller coaster at a Scottish theme park derailed, hit the ride's support and crashed to the ground, injuring 10 people, including eight children, police said.

The incident occurred this morning at M&D's theme park in Motherwell, about a half-hour from Glasglow, according to the Lanarkshire, Scotland, police. The Tsunami inverted roller-coaster ride, involving five gondolas in a train, detached from its rails, collided with the ride's main structure and hit the ground, police said.

"On arrival it became clear a series of five gondolas connected on a train on the Tsunami ride have detached from the rails, struck the superstructure and then struck the ground," Chief Inspector David Bruce of Police Scotland said. "They [the gondolas] fell less than 20 feet. It would appear that they have been coming round a bend and at that point it has detached."

He could not confirm the speed the cars were going when they derailed, but confirmed that they "hadn't struck anything on the ground."

Police said two of the injured were struck on the ground. The 10 people were all being treated a local hospitals, but details of their injuries were not available, police said. Police had earlier reported 11 people were injured.

A spokesperson for M&D's said in a statement that "a serious incident occurred at M&D's today involving the tsunami rollercoaster. We have all emergency services on site to assist. The theme park is closed until further notice."

The "Tsunami" is the only inverted roller coaster in Scotland and can reach speeds of up to 65 kilometers per hour as it goes through corkscrew twists, according to the theme park website. Children under 10 are not allowed on the ride, the website says.

One woman who said she had gotten off the ride when the accident happened said the scene was "like something out of a horror film."

"My heart goes out to everyone on it," Katie Burns said in a posting on Facebook. "A full load came off the track but and on the pavement, like a horror film worse thing ever heard and seen, can't get over this."

Another woman who was there said she was "in shock" at what she saw.