Theme park, Drayton Manor, have been sentenced after the death of 11 year-old Evha Jannath on 9 May 2017.
The schoolgirl was on a class trip to the park when she fell out of a raft on the Splash Canyon water ride. Although she was able to initially wade through the water and climb on to the conveyor belt near the end of the ride, she fell into a section of deeper water and tragically drowned.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that despite four previous incidents at the park involving the same ride, there was not a suitable and sufficient risk assessment in place that addressed the risk of passengers falling or being ejected from the raft. They also found that there weren't adequate control measures in place to enable the ride operators to detect a person in the water - CCTV cameras only covered half of the ride, and were not suitable for properly observing passengers behaviour. Finally they found there to be no system in place to rescue anyone who had fallen in the water.
HSE Principal Inspector Lyn Spooner commented: "As a result of Drayton Manor's failings 11-year-old Evha Jannath, died at the end of what should have been a fun day out. The risks from ejection from the raft had been evident to Drayton Manor for some time, yet they still failed to take the action that could have prevented Evha's death. This tragic event should never have happened and my thoughts and the thoughts of HSE remain with Evha's family and friends."
Drayton Manor Park Limited pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, and were fined £1 million.
The company has however now went into administration and been sold since the incident, due to this, the judge admitted that there was no prospect of the fine being paid. This is because it appears the new owners bought the park itself and not the insolvent company, therefore they haven't purchased the liabilities of the original business, this would have included the £1 million fine.
Trial judge, Mr Justice Spencer, commented: "In my judgment it would be wholly inappropriate to do other than impose the fine which the offence merited. The public and Evha's family must not be led to think that this serious offence, which resulted in the death of a child, can properly be met by only a nominal [financial] penalty."
