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Linnanmäki Park closes ride after death in Spain

Officials at Helsinki’s highly popular Linnanmäki amusement park shut down the dizzying Kirnu ride Monday following reports of a death on a similar ride in Spain. The park says the ride will remain off-limits until officials determine what caused the accident.

Linnanmäen Kirnu.
Linnanmäen Kirnu. Image: Trond H. Trosdahl / Lehtikuva

Kirnu, also known as Top Spin, tests the mettle of even the most seasoned amusement park patrons. On Monday Linnanmäki officials closed the ride when officials got wind of an accident in Spain that caused the death of a customer.

According to park officials routine security checks on Tuesday morning did not discover any mechanical faults, however the ride will remain closed until the cause of Monday’s accident is clear.

“We’ll keep the ride closed until we know what caused the accident. We hope to find answers during the course of the day,” said park chief executive Pia Adlivankin.

Adlivankin said officials hadn’t heard of any similar case before. Kirnu has three security systems and stops automatically if there is any defect. Furthermore safety inspections are performed daily.

“If we compare Finland to any other country, we are very fastidious about safety,” the park boss added.

Kirnu has been churning stomachs in Helsinki since 2007.