Luna Park rides into safety row
Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2008 7:42 am
Luna Park rides into safety row
Carly Crawford, Herald-Sun, December 08, 2008
EXCLUSIVE: LUNA Park has been caught breaking safety rules by running high-speed rides with missing bolts and faulty safety catches.
WorkSafe records reveal the St Kilda fun palace has been cited six times for breaches of health and safety laws over problems investigators say could have endangered lives.
The documents, obtained by the Herald Sun through Freedom of Information, identify safety glitches with the Metropolis, the Enterprise and the Shock Drop rides.
But Luna Park management insisted yesterday that all rides had been made safe and met all WorkSafe's improvement requirements.
A consortium including Lindsay Fox bought the park for $7 million in mid-2005, vowing to rejuvenate it.
Executive director Mary Stuart said most notices had been issued before they took over.
"I have no reason to believe there is any current issue or problem with any of the Luna Park rides," she said.
The park celebrates its 96th anniversary this weekend with a second scenic railway train and a summer scare attraction.
The WorkSafe documents say gates on the vertically spinning cages of the Enterprise wheel have twice come unstuck, prompting WorkSafe to order dual latches in 2004.
An electrical problem caused the Shock Drop near-disaster of 2005, when the platform rose 4m with children unsecured in their seats. WorkSafe ordered electrical improvements.
A wheel popped out of position on the Metropolis roller-coaster, stranding five children for 90 minutes when staff waited an hour to call emergency services in May 2005.
One of the Metropolis' operators had been running the ride for only four shifts; the other had worked at the park for just three months.
WorkSafe demanded the ride not run until it was improved, and criticised the park for the delayed rescue.
But the Metropolis struck trouble again in January this year when seven people were stranded for 20 minutes as it ground to an emergency halt.
Inspection documents show that a rollback catch fell off the carriage because its holding bolt was missing, and that the operator stopped the roller-coaster upon hearing a metal object crash to the ground.
WorkSafe has not issued any safety improvement demands to Luna Park since January this year.
Carly Crawford, Herald-Sun, December 08, 2008
EXCLUSIVE: LUNA Park has been caught breaking safety rules by running high-speed rides with missing bolts and faulty safety catches.
WorkSafe records reveal the St Kilda fun palace has been cited six times for breaches of health and safety laws over problems investigators say could have endangered lives.
The documents, obtained by the Herald Sun through Freedom of Information, identify safety glitches with the Metropolis, the Enterprise and the Shock Drop rides.
But Luna Park management insisted yesterday that all rides had been made safe and met all WorkSafe's improvement requirements.
A consortium including Lindsay Fox bought the park for $7 million in mid-2005, vowing to rejuvenate it.
Executive director Mary Stuart said most notices had been issued before they took over.
"I have no reason to believe there is any current issue or problem with any of the Luna Park rides," she said.
The park celebrates its 96th anniversary this weekend with a second scenic railway train and a summer scare attraction.
The WorkSafe documents say gates on the vertically spinning cages of the Enterprise wheel have twice come unstuck, prompting WorkSafe to order dual latches in 2004.
An electrical problem caused the Shock Drop near-disaster of 2005, when the platform rose 4m with children unsecured in their seats. WorkSafe ordered electrical improvements.
A wheel popped out of position on the Metropolis roller-coaster, stranding five children for 90 minutes when staff waited an hour to call emergency services in May 2005.
One of the Metropolis' operators had been running the ride for only four shifts; the other had worked at the park for just three months.
WorkSafe demanded the ride not run until it was improved, and criticised the park for the delayed rescue.
But the Metropolis struck trouble again in January this year when seven people were stranded for 20 minutes as it ground to an emergency halt.
Inspection documents show that a rollback catch fell off the carriage because its holding bolt was missing, and that the operator stopped the roller-coaster upon hearing a metal object crash to the ground.
WorkSafe has not issued any safety improvement demands to Luna Park since January this year.
