The popular Space Journey ride that malfunctioned leaving six people dead and 10 injured at a Shenzhen amusement park on Tuesday was designed by a PLA-backed design college and manufactured by a Beijing company.
The owner of the Overseas Chinese Town (OCT) East amusement park told a press conference yesterday that the ride aimed to simulate a rocket launch. Space Journey was manufactured by the Beijing Jiuhua Amusement Rides Manufacturing Co and passed a safety check in April last year.
State media reported that the ride, made up of 11 cabins seating four people in each, was the only one in the park that used domestic technology and that it had passed various safety checks by the China Special Equipment Inspection and Research Institute and the China Astronaut Centre.
The park denied the possibility that the malfunction was sabotage rather than an accident after its initial investigation, although the exact cause is not yet known. Part of the park was shut down for a three-day safety check.
The incident has placed both the General Armament Department of the PLA and its safety examiners in an embarrassing situation. Riders said the power stopped and they heard a loud explosion moments before the cabins turned upside down.
Zeng Hui, general manager of OCT East, said five of the 10 injured in the accident were still in serious condition yesterday.