By Marie Mannes
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -One person was killed and nine injured, including children, in a roller coaster accident at the Grona Lund amusement park in the Swedish capital on Sunday, a park official and police said.
Eyewitnesses said the park’s Jetline roller coaster had partly derailed during a ride, sending people crashing to the ground.
“This is tragic and shocking, and regrettably we’ve learned that one person has died,” Grona Lund spokesperson Annika Troselius told public broadcaster SVT.
Ambulances, fire trucks and a helicopter were seen arriving at the park, and police launched an investigation.
Police said nine people were being treated in hospital, including three who had severe injuries.
Grona Lund said in a statement the 140-year-old park was closed until further notice. A spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment.
Jenny Lagerstedt, a journalist visiting the park with her family, told SVT she was nearby and heard a metallic noise and noticed the track structure was shaking at the time of the accident.
“My husband saw a roller coaster car with people in it falling to the ground,” Lagerstedt said.
“My children were scared,” she added.
The steel-tracked Jetline roller coaster reaches a speed of up to 90 kms per hour (56 mph) and a height of 30 metres (98 feet), transporting more than one million visitors each year, the amusement park says on its website.
Sweden’s Culture Minister Parisa Liljestrand said news of the accident was incomprehensible.
“My thoughts are with those that were affected as well as their families and loved ones,” Liljestrand said in a statement to the TT news agency.
(Reporting by Marie Mannes in Stockholm, writing by Terje SolsvikEditing by Frances Kerry, Giles Elgood and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
