Tsunami Crash at M&D Theme Park

On 26 June 2016, the ‘Tsunami’ ride at M&D’s Theme Park in North Lanarkshire derailed, causing serious injury to several riders.

The incident occurred after five sections of the rollercoaster detached from their rails at a bend, falling to the ground. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have now launched a joint investigation with Police Scotland in order to establish the cause of the incident.

In the meantime, the HSE has taken enforcement action against an independent fairground ride inspector, who gave the ‘Tsunami’ the all-clear just 16 days before the incident. The HSE have served him with a prohibition notice, preventing him from undertaking any further inspections of fairground rides until the conditions of the notice are met.

The Park’s Director, Douglas Taylor, said: “each and every ride within the Theme Park is safety checked on a daily basis and undergoes a thorough independent inspection every 12 months. My brother Matthew and I have been in business together for 50 years and this is the first incident of this type that we have ever been involved in.”

This is the first serious health and safety incident which has occurred at M&D’s Theme Park and it will be an interesting case to keep an eye on to establish the extent of any prosecution and how much liability will fall on the Park and the independent inspector whose role was to ensure that the ride was safe.