JEDDAH, 15 July 2007 — On the official opening day of Jeddah’s eighth Summer Festival, 24 women and children on a funfair ride were left screaming in midair after the ride got stuck at around midnight on Thursday.
Two Civil Defense teams and an ambulance were called to the Al-Shallal amusement park on Jeddah’s Corniche to release frightened passengers on the ride, known as the “The Fan.”
The ride comprises 12 compartments in which people sit and which moves in a circular fashion.
The Civil Defense received a telephone call at 12.47 a.m. on Friday from a member of the public at the amusement park. Civil Defense teams used ladders and hydraulic lifts at the park to release the passengers.
“The scene attracted the attention of people visiting the park and people gathered at the ride to watch frightened passengers,” Capt. Abdullah Al-Amri, official spokesman for the Civil Defense Department in Makkah Region, told Arab News.
A source from the amusement park confirmed the incident. “Such technical problems happen at all amusement parks. What is more important is that there were no injuries caused by the accident. Rides in amusement parks undergo daily checkups and maintenance,” the source said, adding that the ride was repaired and was later operating.
“Causes of the accident are not yet known. However, we are still investigating and assuring people that the passengers were in good health and that there were no injuries,” Al-Amri said, adding that if investigations prove that there has been negligence in maintaining the machine, then the Civil Defense would punish and fine the people in charge.
Parents in Jeddah said they would think again before taking their children to amusement parks. “It seems like rides and machines at local amusement parks are not suitable for work under high summer temperature... The heat is more than these electrical machines can stand,” said Salma Al-Omar, a mother of two children.
This is not the first time that an accident has taken place at an amusement park in the Kingdom. Ten people were injured two years ago at an amusement park in the Eastern Province.
