A nine-year-old girl fell from the Mustekala (Octopus) ride at Linnanmäki amusement park in Helsinki on Monday and was sent to the hospital for a medical checkup.
The girl was conscious following the accident and when ambulance staff arrived, according to Linnanmäki's CEO Pia Adlivankin, saying the emergency workers told her the girl had not hit her head.
Park staff members shut down the machine after the accident and are trying to figure out what happened. That may be difficult, because there were apparently no eyewitnesses to the incident. Adlivankin says the girl's parents were not looking at the ride when she fell, which has hampered the park's probe into the accident.
Adlivankin said she does not know what may have caused the girl to fall, saying that no technical issues could be found on the multi-armed device.
The machine's operator turned off the ride when he saw that someone had fallen off.
"The ride was moving [during the time of the accident]. [The seats on the ride] can get as high as 3.7 meters, but it was on its way down, and it's estimated the accident occurred when it was one to two meters from the ground," Adlivankin said.
Rides safety-checked every morning
She said all of the park's rides are checked every morning before it opens to the public.
The Octopus ride has been in operation at the park without incident since 1985, Adlivankin said.
According to tabloid newspaper Ilta-Sanomat, the ride has a height requirement of 120 cm, and Adlivankin said the girl was tall enough to be allowed on the ride.
The girl's mother accompanied her to the hospital but her father and brother remained at the park.
"The mother promised to let us know as soon as they do, and they'll probably return to the amusement park for the rest of the day," Adlivankin said.
Monorail got stuck Friday
Another incident at the park requiring the help of local rescue workers took place on Friday, according to daily Helsingin Sanomat.
Some 34 people on the park's monorail had to be removed from the attraction by crane after the train became stuck in the hot sun.
The temperature on Friday was nearly 32 degrees, but the minor ordeal was over within an hour. All of the affected customers were offered water, restaurant gift cards and free wristbands for another visit to the park, according to the paper.
Friday was not the first time the monorail has stalled on its tracks: the last time it happened was about four years ago.