Boy 'fighting for life' after accident at Disneyland Paris
A five-year old boy was in a critical condition after an accident at Disneyland Paris — Europe’s top tourist attraction.
Police said the boy, from Montpellier, southern France, and whose first name is Iban, was fighting for his life at the Necker Children’s Hospital in Paris.
The accident occurred when the child fell out of a boat in the amusement park’s Pirates of the Caribbean attraction.
Anna Chazareix, the officer in charge of the investigation, said the boy, accompanied by his father, lost his balance when the boat was arriving at the end of the ride.
He fell and found himself stuck under the boat in the water, before his father and others pulled him out.
The dark ride takes visitors through a battle-scarred fortress, a dungeon and out into a ‘Blue Lagoon’. It is a slow-moving ride that does not require wearing safety belts.
During the ride, the boy leaned back and somehow fell out of his boat and was hit by another boat just behind them. The child’s father immediately jumped out to recover him, but not quick enough to prevent the accident.
The boy was stuck between the platform of one of the sceneries and the boat with his chest compressed said commander Fabrice Delin of the Codis emergency services for the Seine-et-Marne department, where the park is situated.
The father reportedly managed to free his son and emergency services arrived quickly on the scene. The child was transferred to Necker Hospital.
A police inquiry has been opened to work out whether the accident was due to carelessness or negligence from Disney agents or whether due to safety failings of the attraction itself.
There have been a number of accidents in the past five years in Disneyland Paris.
In November 2008, a 21-year old man suffered serious head injuries after falling seven metres from the Crush’s Coaster spinning ride.
By Henry Samuel, Paris
9:26PM GMT 30 Oct 2013