Children's Grand Park, Flume Ride Operates Despite Stop Accidents and Leaks

No Report to Industrial Complex After Stoppage Accident

It has been revealed that the Flume Ride at Seoul Children's Grand Park continued operation despite leakage. This ride experienced a stoppage accident in April, during which passengers were stranded.

Seoul Children's Grand Park
Photo by Ajou Economy DB

On the 26th, Yonhap News reported that the Seoul Metropolitan Government Audit Committee pointed out the Flume Ride operator at Children's Grand Park for failing to fulfill the reporting obligation following the accident and for negligence in safety inspections during the 'Safety Status of Parks and Green Spaces in the Leisure Season' audit.

In the accident that occurred on April 22, four ride vehicles stopped near the boarding platform, allowing seven passengers to disembark immediately. Seven passengers on two vehicles that had departed upwards were stranded for five minutes before being guided by safety personnel to evacuate via an emergency passage.

According to Article 8 of the Special Provisions in the 'Permit for Paid Use of Public Property' and the '2023 Disaster and Safety Management Plan,' the operator must immediately notify the supervisory agency, Seoul Facilities Corporation, and relevant administrative bodies in the event of a safety accident involving amusement rides.

However, the operator only rescued the seven citizens without reporting the accident to the corporation.

The Seoul Children's Grand Park authorities judged that the Flume Ride stopped due to a power supply issue to the pump, which caused water flow to cease. They activated a backup pump and conducted a test run, restarting the ride 20 minutes after the accident. This action violated Article 8 of the Special Provisions in the Permit for Paid Use of Public Property.

Deficiencies were also found in the safety inspection of the Flume Ride. On April 28, the Audit Committee, together with the responsible personnel, inspected the ride and found corrosion on the pillars and their joints, with some pillar connectors detached. Leakage at the channel joints was being drained using waterproof sheets.

The operator continued to run the Flume Ride without repairing or supplementing these issues. The Audit Committee issued a 'caution' to the corporation to enforce thorough guidance and supervision and notified them to promptly repair the Flume Ride defects.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.