Sad day in the earliest start of PortAventura's thirty years of history, coinciding with the carnival. Fourteen people were injured yesterday morning after a tree fell near the Tomahawk roller coaster, just as one of the trains was passing. The strong gusts of wind, with a peak of 71 kilometers per hour recorded in Vila-seca in the morning, caused the tree to fall, according to the first investigations by the Mossos d'Esquadra.
At the time of the accident, at 11:30 a.m., the wind was blowing at about 45 km/h. It is not an exceptional wind in this area of Camp de Tarragona, accustomed to this meteorological phenomenon. Civil Protection had activated the Ventcat plan in the alert phase, without restricting any outdoor activities.
The branches hit the passengers on the attraction, although the tree did not collapse onto the roller coaster rails. The train was able to complete its journey and did not derail. The tree felled by the wind was left very inclined at one of the points of the Tomahawk's route, with part of the branches at the height of the heads and bodies of the roller coaster passengers.
Two of the injured were still hospitalized last night in critical condition. His prognosis is reserved, as explained by medical sources at the close of this edition.
One of these two critically injured people was transported by medical helicopter to the Bellvitge hospital (Barcelona) with a head injury caused by the impact of the branches. The second critically injured suffers maxillofacial trauma, upon impact with his face, and is admitted to the Joan XXIII hospital in Tarragona.
The condition of the other twelve wounded is much more favorable. A total of nine passengers were treated by medical services at the scene of the accident, with minor injuries. Another five passengers (four adults and one minor) had to be transferred to different hospitals in Tarragona and Reus by the Emergency Medical Service (SEM). One of them was discharged yesterday afternoon.
The accident took place in the Far West area, next to another roller coaster but with higher altitude and speed, the Stampida. The park remained open after the incident, with apparent normality, and only closed the attraction affected by the fall of the tree, which was cut down and removed by maintenance services around three in the afternoon.
The wind had forced several of the attractions to close during the morning as a precaution, as is always done when the wind gusts are strong in PortAventura. There is an internal protocol that preventively keeps the highest altitude attractions without the public when the wind blows intensely, as was the case yesterday morning for Shambala, Red Force, Dragon Khan or Huracan Condor.
On the other hand, a roller coaster like Tomahawk, with much lower altitude and speed, or the Furius Baco, operated normally despite the wind. The Tomahawk is an attraction suitable for all audiences where many families with children usually go.
The Mossos d'Esquadra have opened an investigation to clarify the causes of the accident. Scientific police agents inspected the attraction and the place where the tree fell. In parallel, Civil Protection is analyzing the activation of PortAventura's self-protection plan, current and now in the review phase, complying with the regulations, as confirmed by sources from this Generalitat body. Protecció Civil is also working in collaboration with the park to clarify the causes of the tremendous incident.
At the time of going to press, the identities and ages of the injured had not yet been revealed.
