The National Occupational Health and Safety Service of the Employment Ministry is conducting a preliminary OHS investigation over the recent amusement ride incident that occurred at the Miss Hibiscus Festival on Sunday.
Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Agni Deo Singh says the MG Rocket ride has 6 carts which can carry a maximum of 2 children per cart and during the time of the accident, the ride was fully loaded with 12 passengers.
Singh says cart number 3’s turnbuckle broke and the cart tilted to the left causing the rear left side of the rocket wing to rub against the ground surface.
He says the purpose of the turnbuckle is to align and hold the cart in its position.
The Minister confirmed that the OHS Team arrived on site after receiving the report around 3.25pm, to ascertain the cause of the incident.
He says that upon investigation, the team identified the cause and directed the ride owner and operator to issue a prohibition notice to cease operations of the MG Rocket Ride immediately.
Singh further says the cause of the turnbuckle failure is still being investigated.
The Employment Minister adds that before operating these amusement rides for this week-long Miss Hibiscus Festival, the NOHSS Team conducted OHS inspections, testing and certification of all rides and operators went through the normal orientation exercise on the standard operating procedures for operating amusement rides on Friday 30th August.
Meanwhile, the Suva City Council is also conducting its internal investigation into the amusement ride malfunction and routine maintenance and safety inspections are carried out daily by the SCC staff to ensure that every ride and stall adheres to the required standards.
Tonight is the Pasifika Post Card which will include Mauri Entertainment from 6pm to 8pm while the Resonance Concert which features Johhny and Dee will be from 8pm to 10pm.
