HermanTheGerman Posted June 2, 2015 Report Share Posted June 2, 2015 Oh dear. This really is horrible now. [emoji20] At least they're being ethical about the whole thing. Varney has already arrived at the park, and he has apparently apologised for one of his parks injuring people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Posted June 2, 2015 Report Share Posted June 2, 2015 The CEO of Merlin, Nick Varney is about to make a statement on Sky News. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian-S Posted June 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2015 Thorpefreak, believe what you want but as Josh says, take things on social media with a pinch of salt unless you know the person personally and have done so for a long time. Several years ago a friend of mine was involved in an accident and according to Twitter, had died of his injuries, you can imagine my surprise when he turned up at my office the next day looking a bit beaten, but otherwise very much alive, around then I stopped taking any notice of social media in these situations as it's mainly full of assumptions and guess work. According to BBC news, some people have suffered "life changing injuries". Doesn't surprise me unfortunately, they were up there a long time crushed in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whatever Posted June 2, 2015 Report Share Posted June 2, 2015 I had always been wary of this user and now I'm am confident in thinking that she is fake. Her photo depicts her as an eight year old and the username has a 2005 on the end... And as I type she has just notified me that she made a mistake and the person in the crash that is her 'cousin' is actually 17. Don't believe it for one second. Trust me to find something potentially interesting and then it turns out that I've been scammed by an eight year old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HermanTheGerman Posted June 2, 2015 Report Share Posted June 2, 2015 Just watched the interview, and to be fair, he seemed just about as shocked and saddened as the rest of us. It was nice to hear him say that he hadn't given the slightest thought to the fall in Merlin's share price too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian-S Posted June 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2015 Yeah I caught it just as he said that, he seemed genuinely shocked and the guy in the studio afterwards basically said most lawyers would advise against what he did and he should be commended for doing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whatever Posted June 2, 2015 Report Share Posted June 2, 2015 Is this interview available on any other news channels? I don't have Sky or Virgin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian-S Posted June 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2015 I think it's just being replayed, if you quickly search YouTube sky news live you might catch it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian-S Posted June 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2015 Don't bother, it's not the full interview, just a snippet, sky tend to loop their news overnight though, so they may repeat it, the interview was during the press preview segment, I think this segment is repeated at 11.30 If not I.'m sure it'll end up on their website sometime soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark9 Posted June 2, 2015 Report Share Posted June 2, 2015 Coasterdude found this footage, no credit to me. I'm so devastated about this accident. There's also a lot happening on the #thesmiler hashtag on Instagram. They've had an official team member (dunno if they are real or fake) replying to comments too. Had to mute that video. It's too distressing. Strange thing human nature, I knew what the video contained and yet couldn't resist looking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mer Posted June 2, 2015 Report Share Posted June 2, 2015 I just watched it on YouTube, found the Sky News live feed and went back a back until I found it, pretty sure it was the whole thing. Before the press preview bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inferno Posted June 2, 2015 Report Share Posted June 2, 2015 Varney' appearance is now on the Sky News article: http://news.sky.com/story/1494944/carriages-crash-on-alton-towers-smiler-ride JoshC. and Ian-S 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MachoMachine Posted June 2, 2015 Report Share Posted June 2, 2015 Daily Mail (ahem) now reporting that someone is 'thought to have lost a leg'. Aside from social media whispers this seems to be the first actual news source commenting on it, I'm just hoping that the Daily Mail keeps its not so reliable rep and it's false. I really hope it's not true. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3107569/Two-carriages-Alton-Towers-Smiler-rollercoaster-collide-16-people-board.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark9 Posted June 2, 2015 Report Share Posted June 2, 2015 Well no, that would be entirely pointless. It's just because the ride didn't exactly have the best reputation beforehand, and now with this incident being exaggerated beyond belief on social media, I do wonder, depending on the outcome of the investigation, whether or not the attraction is deemed safe by the public. If it does turn out that it was the computer's fault, then the ride itself is to be blamed, which won't look good in many people's eyes. Of course they could just close it for a while and let the whole thing blow over. This'll reassure the public that it's safe, and then it can continue from there on out. I expect this is what they'll actually do. Shall we wait and see what is discovered and if any details are given into the public domain first. I don't have any doubts that The Smiler will open up again at some point in the future, maybe not this season but definitely in the next two years. I don't think we need to jump to conclusions about whether this was a Towers fault or a Gerstlauer fault. Merlin as a whole have a pretty exemplary record when it comes to ride incidents. I'm aware that things have happened but rarely ever down to the ride itself being at fault. We live in a world where no news is bad news and an incident like this may put a small minority off visiting. But for the rest of us, we'll still go. Think of all the rides around the world that have killed in the past, the rides in America ejecting riders or Big Thunder Mountain derailing in California. At this point, ten hours after the incident, the ride itself is secondary in my thoughts. Right now, I want to give my thoughts to the people involved, particularly the front row riders. I can't imagine the fear of heading towards that stationary train and being absolutely powerless to stop. OldFarmerDean and Kerfuffle 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Altitude Posted June 2, 2015 Report Share Posted June 2, 2015 On BBC tonight they said the front-row riders have sustained "life changing injuries". Not sure if that means losing limbs or paralysis but either way it's awful. This sounds bad but when you hear about accidents like on the New Texas Giant, they feel so far away that I never really thought them through, but when it happens in your country and on a coaster you've ridden yourself, it all hits home! ^ I agree about how horrible it must have felt knowing what was coming, I'm just so glad nobody has died (from what I've heard). As for the coaster, it's a shame because I like it, but it was so untrustworthy and did seem a tad unsafe after all the little accidents it's had. I feel bad for the ride team too. I know we don't know what happened but it must be horrific working on the coaster knowing that you (as a group) are responsible for all the guests riding on that shift. Can't imagine they'd scrap the coaster completely, perhaps a rebuild? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewumbrajumbos Posted June 2, 2015 Report Share Posted June 2, 2015 Entire park will be shut tomorrow because of this accident! Even though it remained open today? I am sure there is reasoning behind this but I am not as experienced in the industry as others so am not 100% sure why they would choose or be forced to do this! Really is a terrible thing to happen to both those involved and the park hope quick recoveries are made! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian-S Posted June 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2015 I stopped reading the Mail article at the point where they said they were left hanging upside down 25 foot off the ground, plus they are the only news outlet not to censor the photo of the lad in the front left seat (that I've seen anyway), now I'm a strong believer in not censoring events, but at least give the poor kid some dignity. The Mail is pond scum gutter press obsessed with clickbaiting, they're worse than the Sunday Sport were. Even if they are guessing, they are probably right over the injuries, but they've just have such a **** way of going about things they should really be ashamed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian-S Posted June 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2015 They probaably just want some peace and quiet to tidy up and get the trains off the track without 2000 people watching them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MachoMachine Posted June 2, 2015 Report Share Posted June 2, 2015 I've never trusted the daily mail myself but I thought it was best to post anything in relation to rumours etc here. Like I said, hoping they're following their footsteps of not being correct but it's all so, so horrible right now. Just watched Nick's interview, handled it extremely well and professionally. When they commented on the stock decline he gave a good response showing that right now their main concern is getting this sorted and investigated thoroughly. Still feeling a bit uneasy about it all, hoping the 4 seriously injured injuries aren't as bad as the speculation going around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian-S Posted June 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2015 I wasn't ranting at you I just really dislike The Daily Fail that's all lol. I too hope they've just made an assumption based on the info and though bugger let's run with it, we can just delete it later if it's wrong, but given the shape of them cars and lack of frontal protection it wouldn't surprise me at all if they were right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GladiatorFanKyle Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 I just watched that interview. Nick seemed very heartbroken and upset about the accident. the interviewer seemed quite rude though but Nick dealt with it very well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian-S Posted June 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 Well it was Sky after all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merry-go-girl Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 The pictures on the DM are quite ghoulish. And the rumors being reported as fact annoyed me to the point where I had to make a post in protest of the outrage at a ride that had had a breakdown still being in use. Sooo much misinformation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Project LC Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 The daily mail do gain some credibility towards the end of the article. It's just the first half that is inaccurate rubbish which is insulting to call news. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pluk Posted June 3, 2015 Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 This happened while I was at work and I've only caught a few snippets of it throughout the evening. It is just shocking, something that should never ever occur. It's mind boggling that it has been able to. Thoughts have to be with those injured, that witnessed it, the staff that responded and the emergency service workers, who all must have seen some sights today, things that will live with each and every one of them for years to come. Without going through all of what has gone before, I've noticed some comment about it being disrespectful to speculate about how this has happened and what the consequences will be. I can't see there's anything particularly wrong with this as long as it is done in a respectful and non sensationalist way. None of us can know what has happened, so lets not think we do, but it is human nature to want to understand. When I first heard about it I presumed it was a break run coming together at low speed. I realised it was something more serious when I first saw the video now about half way down the BBC website article; the force that must have been involved to move that stationary ride vehicle so far along the inclined track must be huge. Sadly I fairly regularly see the results of high speed impacts first hand through RTC's and the like at work and my first thought was that the front row would all have very serious leg impact injuries, or most probably losses. Having since seen the pictures and video from other angles it seems the front of the laden carriage is pretty well embedded into the back of the other one. I fear the DM article will turn out to be accurate and I would expect more bad news to come. As for how it can have happened, I'm sure it will have been a culmination of a series of errors rather than a single thing. It should be very difficult indeed to put the system into a position where this is possible with or without passengers. The first thing I thought as odd was towards the end of that same BBC video as the camera pans away it shows that there was another stalled train on the second half of the track, so two stalls at once. Could it be possible that the first stall has triggered a shut down, the second stall has happened simultaneously, so when it has come to the evac the operators have decided to move the train on from the first lift hill to get it to the vertical lift brake run rather than evacuate at height, thinking they were only dealing with the second stall? That would account for an element of system override human error coupled with a system allowing something that should not be allowed that I think will both be present. Just a theory. I struggle to think of another logical series of events that make it possible. I'm pretty sure the full details will come out in the coming weeks. I wonder what The Smiler has actually cost towers beyond the build cost? A whole season of disruption, other bad press incidents and now this. I've no doubt it'll open again at some point, but would be surprised if it was this season, and when it does I wonder what restrictions they will place on number of cars on track, will it be forever on a reduced capacity? The H&S executive investigating officers will have locked the site down for now, until it's released back to the park and they are able to remove the trains I'd expect the whole of X Sector to be closed. I think the park have handled this just about as well as they could have done since it occurred and I hope they continue with their honesty and display of genuine remorse, I'm sure it will help a lot in regaining the publics trust of the brand Matt 236, Ian-S, HermanTheGerman and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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