Girl critically injured after fall in Tomb Blaster queue
At Chessington, a four-year-old girl was seriously injured after falling from a bridge in the queue for Tomb Blaster. The dark ride was then closed indefinitely while the incident was investigated.
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A serious incident abruptly changed the story around Tomb Blaster in June 2012. While guests were waiting for the interactive dark ride at Chessington World of Adventures, a four-year-old girl fell from a bridge in the queue. According to Looopings, she slipped through a wooden fence at a height of around four metres.
The injuries were severe. The child suffered a basal skull fracture and broken ribs, with bleeding in her liver and kidneys, and was taken to hospital in critical condition. For visitors and theme park fans, the most unsettling detail was where it happened: not on the ride itself, but in the queue of a family dark ride that normally attracts many children and parents.
Chessington did not want to comment at that moment on possible defects in the queue line. The park did close Tomb Blaster indefinitely while the incident was investigated. That made the accident part of the attraction's wider history, because attention shifted from the ride experience to queue safety and operational responsibility. For an adventurous Egyptian-themed dark ride, the news underlined how much the less visible parts of an attraction matter. Fences, walkways and supervision shape the sense of safety just as much as the ride system and scenery.