Operations continue to be limited due to pandemic recovery. There were three (3) events reported in the media for this month, plus one case from a prior period not previously recapped.

08 January 2021 at Yupie! Park in Brazil, the sweep of a horizontally revolving ride of the Octopus type became loose (mechanical malfunction) during the ride cycle, causing injury to its occupants requiring medical care. Link

09 January 2021 at a Carnival in Brazil, a bystander was exposed to fatal electric shock when they approached to observe the setup of the ride. Key art of the story depicts an umbrella ride typical on kiddie midways, but the story is unclear what ride was involved. Link

14 January 2021 at Dao Ngoc Xanh in Vietnam, one rider was killed and two injured when a roller coaster derailed. Link | Link

Occurrence in prior periods

During January, some older cases were also covered in the media. This typically occurs as a result of litigation over previous injuries.

From 05 May 2018, a go-kart rider at Walibi in Netherlands sustained a scalping when long hair was entangled in the drive mechanism of the go-kart. Far from common, this injury pattern is also not unheard of. Long hair must be secured in a manner that prevents it from falling below the shoulders, such as with hair ties and multiple pins. Although the news report states that helmets were not required. even a helmet is not protective if hair can slide out during the head movement and other motions and vibration during the ride cycle. Link