Prosecutors Say Fatal Roller Coaster Accident in Sweden Caused by a Support Arm Breaking

STOCKHOLM (AP) — 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,” prosecutors said Wednesday.

A car on the Jetline roller coaster derailed at the Gröna Lund, Sweden`s oldest amusement park. Three people fell out and a woman died. Nine others were injured.

“We know what happened but still don’t know why it could happen. I am waiting for results from technical investigations that are not yet complete,” Christer B. Jarlås, the prosecutor in charge of the case, said in a statement.

He said the crime classification in the case is “grossly causing the death of another, grossly causing bodily harm and causing danger to another.”

The accident was caused by the front support arm of the train’s first carriage breaking, first on one side and then the other, causing the wagon wheels to fall off, Jarlås said.

He declined to give further details but told Swedish technical magazine Ny Teknik on Tuesday that the accident would not have happened “if the passengers had worn seat belts.” He said the ride was based “on 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, Jarlås told Ny Teknik.

Tomas Ojala of the Swedish Accident Investigation Authority told Ny Teknik that they have “a good picture” of why the support arm broke off but that he doesn`t want to “convey it right now.”

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 Gröna Lund. It has a maximum height of 30 meters (98 feet) and a top speed of 90 kph (56 mph).