One person has been killed and nine injured in a roller coaster accident at Gröna Lund, an amusement park in Stockholm, Sweden.
The park’s Jetline coaster, which reaches a height of 30 metres and speeds of up to 90km/h, partly derailed on Sunday (25 June) and riders fell to the ground, witnesses said.
On the Gröna Lund website, a statement simply reads: “Ongoing updates on the tragic Jetline roller coaster accident on June 25.”
The park’s chief executive, Jan Eriksson, declared a “day of mourning”. He said: “Something like this should not happen at Gröna Lund, and yet it happened.” Eriksson said the park would be closed for a week for police to carry out an investigation.
After the accident, Gröna Lund was evacuated. Police and emergency services were called to the scene. Three of the nine injured riders are understood to be badly wounded and are receiving treatment at a nearby hospital.
Jenny Lagerstedt, a journalist visiting the park with her family, told Swedish broadcaster SVT: “My husband saw a roller coaster car with people in it falling to the ground. My children were scared.”
“It is important for us to do everything we can to get to the bottom of this,” Annika Troselius, a spokesperson for Gröna Lund, told a news conference.
“It is incredibly tragic and shocking,” Troselius said. “Unfortunately we have been informed that one person is killed and many are injured.”
Gröna Lund closed for investigation
With around 1.7 million annual guests, Gröna Lund is Sweden’s second busiest amusement park. Located on the island of Djurgården in central Stockholm, the 37,000-square-metre destination is home to more than 30 rides and attractions, including eight coasters.
These include Monster – King of Roller Coasters, a new inverted steel coaster by B&M that opened in 2021.
Last week, Europa-Park was evacuated after a fire broke out in an attraction’s control room. Germany’s largest amusement park has reopened, and no visitors were harmed.
