Former employees say Smiler carriage should have been held back until empty car returned, as two of the injured riders are named

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Human error is likely to have played a major part in the rollercoaster crash at Alton Towers that saw four riders airlifted to hospital with serious injuries, former staff at the theme park have claimed.

As two of those injured were named on Wednesday, former Alton Towers employees told the Guardian that a member of staff should not have released a passenger-laden carriage before a test car had made a full run.

The carriage full of thrill-seekers collided at speed with a test car that had come to a halt on the £18m Smiler ride at the Staffordshire attraction on Tuesday, leaving a total of 16 people hurt and suspended 25ft in the air at a 45-degree angle.

The former staff member said mechanical error also played a role as sensors are supposed to prevent two cars from entering the same section of track.

Among the four most seriously injured was Joe Pugh, 18, who was on the ride with his girlfriend, Leah Washington. The couple are from Barnsley, South Yorkshire.

Leah Washington Photograph: Facebook

Joe Pugh Photograph: Facebook

Pugh’s father, Simon, confirmed his son, a barman and Huddersfield University student, was involved in the incident.

Steve Hibbert, bar manager at the Oaks Working Men’s Club, where Pugh is employed, said he was shocked to see him being carried away from the scene on a stretcher in television footage.

“Joe was in the front row with his girlfriend when the incident happened,” Hibbert said. “We just want to wish him well, and his job is still here when he’s feeling better.”

Friends of Pugh expressed their shock on social media. On Twitter, Jessica Martin said: “Cannot actually believe what’s happened! Get well very soon Joe Pugh. Just seen you on the news, can’t miss that jacket haha! Love you.”

Oaks Working Men’s Club posts get-well message to Joe Pugh, one of four people seriously injured in the Alton Towers crash. Photograph: OaksWMC/Facebook

Alton Towers has confirmed it will remain closed on Thursday.

It has emerged that the Smiler was manufactured by German firm Gerstlauer, which also built the trains for a rollercoaster in Six Flags Park in Texas from which a woman fell to her death in 2013.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has launched an investigation into what went wrong and to determine whether the theme park was operating the ride within the law.



One former Alton Towers employee explained that the Smiler could have up to five cars moving around the track all at once and a “block system” run by sensors prevented two cars entering specific sections at the same time.



“Only one car at a time is permitted in each block and at the end of each, there is a section where a train can be stopped if it needs to be,” the former worker said.

“It looks like it will have been down to both human and mechanical error. Really a computer runs the ride and a member of staff just presses a button to release the cars from the station.



“Technically, it should be absolutely impossible for two cars to enter the same block, which is down to sensors run by a computer.

“But as horrible as it is to say, a member of staff should probably not have released the car from the station when an empty one hadn’t made it back.”

Another former staff member said: “The block system should have been clear before another craft is able to enter that section of the ride. If it was not the whole ride should have automatically shut down.”

Two men aged 27 and 18 and two females aged 19 and 17 suffered serious leg injuries in the crash and were airlifted to major trauma centres, but one of them was later released.

Another 12 occupants – six men and six women – required medical treatment, including a man in his 20s who suffered neck and abdominal injuries.



Some of the riders were stuck in the ride for more than four hours as emergency services provided urgent medical treatment.

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Neil Craig, head of operations for the HSE in the Midlands, said: “We will want to determine that those responsible for operating this ride have done what the law requires. We will also ensure that if there are any lessons to be learned they are shared as soon as possible.

“Although the investigation is in its early stages, we will take action to protect the public if we uncover evidence that could affect the safety of other rides at the park or elsewhere.”



Earlier on Wednesday, owners of Alton Towers dismissed as “teething problems” well-publicised faults on its Smiler rollercoaster ride that occurred before Tuesday’s accident.

Nick Varney, the chief executive of Merlin Entertainments, which runs the Staffordshire attraction, said it would “dig deep into trying to find the causes of an accident that frankly shouldn’t have happened”.

The incident is not the first involving the Smiler, which has been closed on two occasions because of safety concerns since opening two years ago.

The ride, which features a world record-breaking 14 loops, was closed in July 2013 after reports that a bolt was seen to have fallen from the ride, and in November that year was closed after plastic guard wheels came loose and hit front-row riders.

During a previous scare, 16 journalists were left stranded on the Smiler for about 30 minutes on a preview ride before it opened to the public in May 2013.