Owner of amusement park held

The Kancheepuram district police on Thursday arrested Jose Punneesh, owner of Kishkinta amusement park near Tambaram, where a worker died and 10 others were injured after a giant wheel collapsed on Wednesday evening. Sakthivelan, the park’s manager, was also arrested, according to policemen at Somangalam station.

The body of 25-year-old S. Mani of Somangalam was handed over to his relatives on Thursday after a post-mortem was carried out on it at Tambaram Taluk Government Hospital in Chromepet. The injured told the police that the amusement park authorities asked temporary workers employed in stalls and other kiosks to go for a trial ride on the musical spinning wheel — named ‘disco dancer’. The ride would move up and down on a C-shaped steel structure and also spin while moving.

Police said the first two test rides were completed without a problem, but on the third, a spinning wheel broke into three pieces, hurling those on the ride onto the ground.

The employees, police said, alleged that the amusement park authorities tried to cover up the incident initially. Investigating policemen said it was too early to determine if there was any delay in seeking medical assistance.

“The police should have immediately arrested those who insisted on workers taking part in the trial run. In many places, trial runs are being conducted using sand bags matching the weight of persons expected to use the machinery,” said Ramesh Sundaram, a mechanical engineer.

‘No monitoring agency’

“The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) provides guidelines on safety in amusement parks. But there is no independent body to monitor safety. That is left to the respective amusement parks,” he said.

Attempts to reach the amusement park authorities were unsuccessful. The amusement park was closed for the public on Thursday.