STOCKHOLM (AP) 鈥 A fatal roller coaster accident in Stockholm where some passengers plunged to the ground in June was caused by a newly installed "support arm breaking off so that the wheels on the cart fell off,鈥 prosecutors said Wednesday.
A car on the Jetline roller coaster derailed at the Gr枚na Lund, Sweden's oldest amusement park. Three people fell out and a woman died. Nine others were injured.
鈥淲e know what happened but still don鈥檛 know why it could happen. I am waiting for results from technical investigations that are not yet complete,鈥 Christer B. Jarl氓s, the prosecutor in charge of the case, said in a statement.
He said the crime classification in the case is 鈥済rossly causing the death of another, grossly causing bodily harm and causing danger to another.鈥
The accident was caused by the front support arm of the train鈥檚 first carriage breaking, first on one side and then the other, causing the wagon wheels to fall off, Jarl氓s said.
He declined to give further details but told Swedish technical magazine Ny Teknik on Tuesday that the accident would not have happened 鈥渋f the passengers had worn seat belts.鈥 He said the ride was based 鈥渙n the rider being held back by the g-force, not the safety bar" that prevents passengers from getting up.
The support arm had been installed this spring, Jarl氓s told Ny Teknik.
Tomas Ojala of the Swedish Accident Investigation Authority told Ny Teknik that they have 鈥渁 good picture鈥 of why the support arm broke off but that he doesn't want to 鈥渃onvey it right now.鈥
Ny Teknik wrote that the authority's technical report is expected in May or June.
The 800-meter (2,600-foot) roller coaster opened in 1988 and was renovated in 2000, according to Gr枚na Lund. It has a maximum height of 30 meters (98 feet) and a top speed of 90 kph (56 mph).
