Alton Towers operator Merlin fined £5m over Smiler crash

Alton Towers operator Merlin has been fined £5m for the crash on the Smiler rollercoaster.

Sixteen people were injured in the June 2015 crash, including two teenage girls who needed leg amputations.

In April, Merlin Attractions Operations Ltd admitted breaching the Health and Safety Act.

The theme park originally said the accident was caused by “human error.” But prosecutors argued the fault was with the employer not individuals.

Sentencing, Judge Michael Chambers QC described the crash on the £18m attraction as a “catastrophic failure” and said human error was not the cause as was suggested at first.

“This was a needless and avoidable accident in which those who were injured were lucky not to be killed,” he said.

‘Catalogue of errors’
He said the crash was foreseeable but accepted the defendant had taken full and extensive steps to remedy the problems that led to the crash.

Speaking outside court after sentencing, Paul Paxton, representing eight of the victims, said his clients had been “shocked and disappointed by the catalogue of errors”.

He added: “Money alone will never replace limbs, nor heal the psychological scars.”

Nick Varney, chief executive of Merlin Entertainments, said they were determined to “never repeat” the devastating accident and stressed the firm was not an emotionless corporate entity.

“In this context, the far greater punishment for all of us is knowing that on this occasion we let people down with devastating consequences,” he said.

“It is something we will never forget and it is something we are utterly determined will never be repeated.”

The court had heard on Monday how engineers failed to notice a carriage that had stopped midway around the 14-loop ride.

 

BBC