10 hurt in rollercoaster accident in central Scotland

EDINBURGH - A total of 10 people were injured after a rollercoaster crashed off the rails at a theme park in North Lanarkshire in central Scotland on Sunday, local police said.

The two adults and eight children were all being treated at local hospitals, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) quoted Police Scotland as saying.

One adult and one child are in stable condition and three children are expected to be allowed home later, said the report.

The accident involved the Tsunami ride at the M&D's park near Strathclyde Park in Motherwell. Six ambulance crews and a specialist operation team, as well as six fire engines were on the scene after being called on Sunday afternoon.

Police Scotland revised down the number of the injured from its initial estimate of 11 and confirmed there were nine passengers on the ride at the time, while eyewitnesses claimed the carriage smashed into a toddlers' ride when it hit the ground, as reported by the online Scotsman newspaper.

"On arrival it became clear a series of five gondolas connected on a train on the Tsunami ride have detached from the rails, struck the superstructure and then struck the ground." Chief Inspector David Bruce was quoted by BBC as saying.

"As a result of this accident, 10 people have been injured, two adults and eight children," he added.

The M&D's theme park announced on its website that the theme park is closed due to an incident.

"A serious incident occurred at M&D's today involving the tsunami rollercoaster. We have all emergency services on site to assist. The theme park is closed until further notice," said the spokesperson for the theme park.

There are also messages and videos on social media about the incident of the rollercoaster carriage crash with children and adults on board, saying "it's like something out a horror film".

Scottish First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon said: "My thoughts are with everyone involved in this terrible incident at M&D's theme park, especially those injured."

Earlier, Police Scotland declined to make any comment on the incident on the phone when contacted by Xinhua.