HERSHEYPARK has suffered yet another safety scare weeks after a girl, 9, drowned and a boy was filmed wandering a monorail line high above the crowd.
In the latest incident, visitors to the Pennsylvania attraction were filmed walking alongside a ride.
Video footage shows people being evacuated from a ride at Hersheypark on Sunday[/caption]
The safety scare occurred while riders were enjoying the Comet coaster[/caption]
People were asked to evacuate the Comet ride at about 5pm on Sunday, according to CBS 21.
The Comet is a 75-year-old wooden roller coaster.
The exit request was due to an “off-ride guest issue,” confirmed a spokesperson for the park, located in Hershey.
The broadcaster reported that it had received video footage showing people leaving the car.
The clip also showed them walking down the stairs alongside the tracks.
In a statement, a spokesperson told The U.S. Sun today that the site could “confirm that there were no mechanical or operational issues whatsoever with Comet, one of our coasters.”
The statement added, “On Sunday, the Comet experienced a brief, temporary stoppage that was unrelated to the ride itself and stemmed from a guest disturbance on the platform.
“The ride and our team members performed exactly as designed.
“In line with our standard protocols, our team safely assisted guests back to the station without incident, and the ride resumed normal operation.”
The temporary stoppage follows a series of high-profile incidents at the site.
On August 30, a park visitor rescued a lost boy spotted wandering along the monorail line.
The child was reported missing late that afternoon after he became separated from his parents, according to a news release from the chocolate-themed amusement park.
While park employees were frantically searching for him, the boy had entered a secured area leading to the 100ft-high monorail ride.
This section was closed to the public and “safeguarded by a chained closure at the entrance and barricaded turnstile at the platform,” according to the park.
However, the boy was in the closed station for about 20 minutes before he wandered onto the tracks.
A heart-stopping video posted to social media showed him wandering along the tracks as people in the crowd below waved their arms and yelled directions at him including, “Stop!” and “Keep going!”
At one point he covered his ears and began walking back the way he came, before changing direction again, and then stopping.
Summer of safety scares
Hersheypark has suffered another safety scare this summer – here are the latest details
September 7: Riders enjoying the amusement park’s Comet Coaster were forced to evacuate. A spokesperson said there was “no mechanical or operational issues whatsoever.”
The rep attributed the evacuation to a “guest disturbance on the platform.”
August 30: A lost boy was rescued after wandering a monorail line high above the crowd.
He managed to enter a secured area leading to the monorail ride, and wandered onto the tracks.
The child was unharmed and was safely reunited with his family, after heroic dad John Sampson risked his own life to rescue him.
The park said in a statement, “We remain committed to maintaining the highest levels of guest safety throughout Hersheypark.”
July 24: Sophia Subedi drowned in the wave pool at the Pennsylvania theme park, the Derry Township Police Department said.
It was ruled as accidental, with no criminal activity found on the part of the park’s employees, according to the police on August 1.
The force concluded that the park had upheld safety standards.
The number of people in the wave pool at the time was “significantly less than it’s designed maximum capacity,” according to its statement.
“Witnesses and lifeguards responded promptly, initiating rescue and resuscitation efforts within seconds of noticing Sophia’s distress,” police said.
“The Derry Township Police Department, along with the witnesses, Hersheypark staff, and first responders who attempted to save Sophia, extend their sincere condolences to her family and friends, as well as the Bhutanese community, during this difficult time,” they added.
A park spokesperson said her death was believed to be the first confirmed death of a visitor in the attraction’s 119-year history.
Source: ABC News
The clip then showed a brave man clambering onto a nearby building and pulling himself onto the tracks to reach the stricken boy.
He scooped up the boy to cheers from below.
Heroic John Sampson later explained that his “dad instincts kicked in.”
The child was – fortunately – uninjured and was safely reunited with his family.
POOL TRAGEDY
This followed a tragic death in July, when a 9-year-old girl, Sophie Subedi, was pulled from a pool before she was pronounced dead.
Lifeguards immediately performed a rescue and gave CPR before she was rushed to the hospital.
But, she could not be saved, said Hersheypark’s CEO John Lawn.
“To every family who visits Hersheypark, please know this: your safety and well-being drive every decision we make,” he said.
“We will thoroughly investigate this tragedy and honor the memory of this young guest by continuing our focus on ensuring the safety of our guests at Hersheypark.”
One witness claimed they saw the girl being pulled from the wave pool, according to NBC affiliate WGAL.
“Lifeguards blew their whistle, evacuating everyone, and within moments, staff and security rushed to help,” added the witness, who asked to remain anonymous.
