Engineering news
The chief executive of theme park Alton Towers has said safety measures "were not adequate" and defended the decision to close a number of other rides following an accident which resulted in four serious injuries.
Nick Varney, CEO of Merlin Entertainments which runs the Staffordshire visitor attraction, said the group was adding "another layer" of safety measures to existing rides as a "precaution" against the prospect of another accident.
Alton Towers has been closed since the record-breaking Smiler ride came to an abrupt halt when two carriages collided, injuring 16 people, on Tuesday.
Merlin Entertainments has subsequently announced it has temporarily shut another Alton Towers ride, Saw, a similar rollercoaster at its Thorpe Park site, and two rides at Chessington World of Adventures to "reinforce the safe operation" of the attractions.
Varney told Sky News: "What we have done today is put in another level of additional safety measures across all of our parks that operate these types of rides. All of them – bar two – have been able to implement those new procedures today.
"The two rides at Chessington that are currently suspended will take a few days before we can make the technical and training adjustments to bring them up to the new level of safety protocol - it doesn't mean they were not safe before.
"I think we have had very rigorous protocols across all our attractions. We have had the first - and I hope only accident - in one of our theme parks. We have to make sure that doesn't happen again.
"[Safety measures] clearly weren't adequate on Smiler, because the accident happened. We have taken steps to upgrade safety standards from what were already very stringent safety standards."
Meanwhile, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said it has removed the carriages involved in the incident and transported them to its laboratory in Buxton for further analysis.
It has served a prohibition notice on the rollercoaster stopping its use until action is taken to deal with the cause of the failure.
Neil Craig, head of operations for HSE in the Midlands, said: “The notice is specific to the ‘Smiler’ ride and does not affect other rides at the park. HSE expects the park operator to apply any early learning from the incident to wider risk management at the site.
“The decision about when to re-open the park is for the owners to make.”
Since opening two years ago the £18 million rollercoaster, which boasts a world-record 14 loops, has been closed twice because of safety concerns.