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Video Shows Aftermath of a Roller Coaster Collision That Injured Four Riders

Sixteen people at an English amusement park were stranded on the ride for hours after cars carrying passengers crashed into an empty carriage.
Photo by Reuters

A roller coaster collision at an amusement park in England's West Midlands Tuesday afternoon stranded 16 passengers on the ride for more than four hours. Four people sustained serious injuries to their legs.

The accident occurred when cars carrying passengers crashed into an empty carriage at the popular Alton Towers located in Staffordshire. A witness told the Guardian the collision sounded "like a car crash"; passengers could reportedly be heard screaming.

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Video taken by a bystander in the moments following the crash show the line of carriages swinging back and forth. The ride is known as the Smiler and is billed as the "world's first 14-looping rollercoaster." The theme park's website boasts about the roller coaster's blinding lights and optical allusions.

— Skootay (@skootay)June 2, 2015

According to radio host Danny Simm, who was reportedly on the scene, some of the trapped passengers were "unconscious, knocked out" with "blood everywhere," the Guardian reported.

Theme park patron Sophie Underwood described the crash to the BBC.

"It wasn't very high, but it was obviously high enough for them to cause some quite serious injuries to the people that were on the rollercoaster," Underwood said. "They literally had come back off and round the back of a loop, and straight into another empty coach that had been stuck."

Smiler coasters have just crashed! Watch this space. — Benj (@_ben_jamming)June 2, 2015

— Benj (@_ben_jamming)June 2, 2015

At one point a rescue helicopter was dispatched to the scene. The first round of ambulances and air ambulances responded shortly after 2pm, but did not finish the operation until after 6pm. According to the the amusement park operator, its emergency team responded within minutes, the BBC reported.

Eventually the 16 riders were evacuated, four of whom sustained significant injuries to their lower limbs, according to a spokesperson for Alton Towers. In total, four people — two men and two women — were taken to two separate hospitals, the local ambulance service told the BBC. The theme park spokesperson said they would be conducting an investigation.

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Air ambulance being guarded by Alton Towers staff. — Leigh Curtis (@LeighCurtis_NP)June 2, 2015

The divisional director for the amusement park, Ian Crabbe, said in a statement: "May I first say that my colleagues and I are devastated by what has happened here today, and our only priority at this time is to work with the emergency services to get the 16 people affected off the ride safely, and most importantly those who are injured are being cared for."

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Technical issues have forced the ride to shut down at least twice before.

Guests who had already purchased their tickets have the option to obtain a rain check or a full refund.