Blackgang Chine will be reopening today (Tuesday), following a serious incident at the site.
Blackgang Chine had to be evacuated after its 'Shipwrecked' ride appeared to partly collapse yesterday afternoon.
Adults and children had to be rescued - with at least two people needing hospital treatment for injuries to their legs and shoulder.
The Isle of Wight NHS Trust confirmed that it sent an ambulance to the park after two people were injured.
Isle of Wight Radio spoke to Samantha Downham, from Hertfordshire, who was on the ride at the time of the incident:
"It started going really slowly and then all of a sudden it just tipped to one side. We thought it was part of the ride, and then a lady started screaming because I think her arm was in between the side of the ride and the barrier. Then, a load of people started coming over and others started trying to climb out and get down.
"They managed to get the kids out from under the bars. Me and my daughter were right up at the top. She was a bit panicky.
"A load of the public were really helpful. There were people that weren't on the ride trying to climb up to get people down."
(Picture: The Isle of Wight NHS Trust confirmed it sent paramedics to the scene)
Ellie Westlake was also there with her family when it happened.
Speaking to Isle of Wight Radio, she said:
"My family, which includes a 3-year-old, were on the ride and it began to make an odd sound. It then collapsed, which caused them all to go to one side and be squished."
Ellie, who is from Weston-Super-Mare, was due to be heading home last night.
She continued:
"My partner ran to grab my nephew and ended up pulling everyone else off the ride. After everyone was off, we noticed my brother-in-law, who is 20 hurt his leg and was unable to move it, or feel anything in his left leg.
"My other brother-in-law has done something to his shoulder. They both got rushed to St Mary’s hospital in Newport. My partner has also damaged his shoulders and neck from pulling people off the ride."
Blackgang Chine issued the following statement:
"Our team have quickly responded to the incident and all guests were quickly and safely evacuated.
"The safe performance of our rides is key to what we do and we would like to reassure all guests that we have stringent safety control procedures in place that we were able to instantly deploy.
"We will continue to update all guests on the current park operations and kindly ask all guests to limit non-essential contact to our customer services team at this time."
It's understood the Shipwrecked ride will not be reopening and investigations are underway into what caused the incident.
Adding a new update on Facebook today, Blackgang Chine said:
"We're pleased to let all guests know Blackgang Chine will be open from 10am today (Tuesday 9th August)!
"Join our Dino team from 11am for a whole day of pre-historic adventures at Triassic Tuesdays!
"We look forward to welcoming you all soon."
PARK UPDATE 🦖 We're pleased to let all guests know Blackgang Chine will be open from 10am today (Tuesday 9th August)!...
Posted by Blackgang Chine- Land of Imagination on Tuesday, August 9, 2022
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