10 Crazy Amusement Park Accidents

10. RIDE OF STEEL DARRIEN LAKE:

U.S Army SGT. JAMES HACKEMER wanted to try every roller coaster at the Darien Lake theme Park, provide it was suitable safe to accommodate a double-amputee as himself. The Iraq war vet had no reason to worry after receiving assurance that he’d be fine on The Ride of Steel. Sitting right at the front, HACKEMER fell through the harness on the ride’s first incline and fell to a brutal, tragic death. Neither the lap bar nor seatbelt restraints were able to sufficiently secure HACKEMER.

9.  ACTION PARK:

It’s a wonder that action park even lasted as long as it did the park represented a perfect storm of unsafe rides, some drunken and belligerent patrons and plenty of disinterested teenage employees a litany of incidents at the park resulted in at least six deaths from a variety of causes that range from heart attack to Electrocution to Drownings. In one particular incident, a man was killed when the car he was riding in came off the tracks of the Alpine slide, causing him to smash his head on a rock below.

8. THE CYCLONE CONEY ISLAND:

The Cyclone roller coaster has become such an historic fixture within Coney Island the ride isn’t a stranger to ignominy, although two rider deaths in the 80’s both came as a result of reckless rider behavior. One particular rickety ride on July 31, 2007, however, left 53-year-old California man KEITH SHIRASAWA in pain and with numbness in his fingers. After being admitted to hospital with what later diagnosed as a broken neck, SHIRASAWA died days later due to complications of his injury.

7. PUFF THE LITTLE FIRE DRAGON LAGOON AMUSEMENT PARK:

Sadly, it isn’t just the high impact coasters that can result in safety concerns. The first recorded ride-related death in the long history of the Lagoon Amusement Park. Came on the popular children’s ride, Puff The Little Fire Dragon. On May 1, 1989, six-years-old Ryan BECKSTEAD managed to wrest himself free of the ride’s restraining devices and stood up as the ride was leaving the station. He quickly fell out of the moving car, but wasn’t seriously hurt by the relatively short fall. However, he attempted to climb back onto the tracks just as another car was arriving. He was struck and is believed to have died on impact.

6. SUPERMAN SIX FLAGS KENTUCKY:

The “Superman tower of power” vertically drops ride at six flags Kentucky probably felt more like it was based on the character Spiderman super-villain Dr. octopus for a group of teenage girls in July of 2007. As the girls ascended on the ride, they became horrified upon noticing a number of support cables breaking loose and beginning to whip around freely. Their pleading screams for the ride to be shut off fell on deaf ears and the cables viciously snapped back and forth as the riders were dropped in a free fall. Many passengers were injured from the cables and one girl was forced to have both feet amputated.

5. FLIGHT COMMADER KING’S ISLAND:

There’s an old adage that no publicity is bad publicity, but you still have to wonder whether an amusement park really wants to host the SYFY “Ghost Hunters” Amidst rumors of Hauntings the haunted reputation of king’s island stems from a tragic, deadly two-incident day at the park on June 9, 1991. First, William HAITHCOAT and park employee Darrel Robertson were both fatally electrocuted while trying to save another guest who had fallen into a pond. About an hour later, 32-year-old candy Taylor was killed when she fell from the park’s flight commander despite a truly dark day, the park remains open-haunted reputation and all.

4. BATMAN: THE RIDE SIX FLAGS OVER GEORGIA:

The park bears the brunt of responsibility in making their safe and secure, but guest also have to know not to put themselves in the line of fire. That lesson hadn’t been passed on to a young PARK-GOER on June 28, 2008 at the batman ride at six flags over Georgia. Having earlier lost his hat on the ride, he opted to jump two fences to retrieve it, soon getting decapitated thanks to his dangerous proximity to the ride.

3. FUJIN RAIJIN II EXPOLAND:

For 37 years, Osaka, Japan’s Expoland was a popular, thriving amusement park with more than 40 rides and attractions .Then came tragedy on May 5, 2007. The country’s worst amusement park disaster occurred when the FUJIN RAIJIN II roller coaster derailed killing one 19-years-old university student and injuring 19 others when an investigation into the accident revealed a broken axle, it was revealed that the axles hadn’t been replaced in 15 years. The park reopened a month later, but was closed permanently shortly thereafter on account of poor attendance.

2. HYDRO OAKWOOD THEME PARK:

The hydro water roller coaster at the Oakwood theme park in Wales was known for its signature drops. But in April 2004, 16-year-old Hayley Williams faced tragic plunge of an entirely different nature. While riding hydro, Williams fell out of her car and drooped 100 feet, sustaining internal injuries that ultimately led to her death. The park was fined almost $400,000 for negligence after it was discovered that employees had habitually failed to check the bars and seatbelts that held riders in place.

1. THE BIG DIPPER BATTERSEA FUN FAIR:

England’s Battersea fun fair has the infamous, notorious distinction of being home to the worst roller coaster tragedy in history. In 1972, the ever-popular wooden coaster known s the big
dipper served as the park’s signature attraction in spite of its Rickety-Ness and a high level of required maintenance that demanded constant and meticulous attention. In May of that year, a rope that brought the cars to the top of the hill snapped and the anti-rollback feature failed leaving a chain of speeding cars to smash into a wall at full speed the accident killed five children and injured 13 more, with the park closing two years later on account of the negligence associated with the disaster.

10 Countries That May Not Survive The Next 20 Years

10 SPAIN:

This may come as a surprise to some, but Spain has been teetering on the verge of collapse since 2008.This may come as a surprise to some, but Spain has been teetering on the verge of collapse since 2008.Spain is currently in an economic crisis .Spain’s National Debt to GDP ratio is at a dangerous 94%.Meanwhile, 24% of Spain citizens were unemployed in January 2015.However, Spain’s economy in only half of the country’s worries .Two regions of Spain could very easily break free of the country within the next 20 years .In western Spain, a region called Catalonia has a thriving independence movement,  with strong popular support .The people of Catalonia have few cultural ties to the rest of Spain, and to prove their desire for independence. In 2013 they formed a 300 miles human chain around the country, to cut it off from the rest of Spain. At the same time, many of the Basque region of Northern Spain long for independence the people of Basque, not Spanish. And several violent terrorist groups are currently fighting for independence.

9 NORTH KOREA:

It’s no secret that technological advancement is leaving NORTH KOREA far behind the rest of the world. Despite NORTH KOREA’S policy of total self reliance, NORH KOREA simply does not have enough resources within its borders to survive the 21^st century .At some point, North Korea will need to leave behind its isolation, and expand trade and cooperative ties with other countries. When North Korea finally does open up its Borders to the rest of the world, it’s probable that the Kim regime won’t be able to survive. There is a chance that KIM JONG Un will attempt Chinese style reforms, in an attempt to copy China. But that may only speed up North Korea’s demise. North Korea’s government holds on to power very tightly and one mistake or internal power struggle could end Kim JONG Un’s grip on power.

8 BELGIUM:

Belgium citizens are deeply divided along ethnic lines. In fact the two halves of Belgium: Flanders and Wallonia have little in common with each other. In the south of Belgium lies Wallonia, a nearly autonomous region dominated by French speaking people. Many French speakers want either an independent Wallonia or a union with France. The north Belgium is known as Flanders and the people of the region are ethnically Flemish and want an independent Flanders. In the next 20 years Belgium may fracture. Creating two new countries in Europe : Flanders and Wallonia.

7 CHINA:

Perhaps the most surprising entry on the list is China Despite having the largest military in the world and one of the most powerful economies. China has deep seated problem they must address in order to survive the 21^st century Even though the Chinese Communist party harshly cracks down on anyone who opposes them. China is on a collision course with disaster. Many of China’s problem stem from the outright destruction of the country’s environment. Half of China’s rivers and reservoirs are polluted beyond what is considered safe for any form of human consumption. Also, according to the Chinese government, by 2030 China will have used all of its drinkable water and according  to the World Bank, every year 250,000 Chinese people die prematurely because of pollution. The Chinese Government tried to block the release of this report, fearing that it would cause massive social unrest. Disaster may just be around the corner for China.

6 IRAQ:

The rise of the Islamic State has brought international attention to the deeply rooted divisions in Iraq. Iraq’s borders were originally created by British colonial authorities in the 20^th century with absolutely no regard for the cultural divided of the region. Saddam Hussein was able to keep Iraq together by oppression and brute force but now, the country is quickly falling apart at the seams three groups dominate Iraq, the Kurds in the North the Sunnis in the west and the Shiites in the south. In order for Iraq to be once again be unified the Kurds will have to surrender their newfound control of Iraq’s north. The Islamic State will have to be defeated and the Sunnis, Kurd, and Shiites will have to agree to live under one nation again.

However, it’s more likely that these groups will choose to be separate, each under their own flags.

5 LIBYA:

Similar to Iraq, Libya is also an artificial creation of a colonial era. Libya was an Italian colony until 1951, and the country was later held together by Colonel Gaddafi until his defeat in the Libyan Civil War of 2011 Now after Gaddafi’s fall , the country is fracturing. Before the Italian occupation, Libya did not exist and the area is divided into three regions: 1 Tripolitania, 2 Cyrenaica and Fezzan the people of these regions are more loyal to their tribal routes, than any artificial notions of statehood. The second Libyan civil War is currently ongoing, but it is likely a unified Libya will not survive the conflict.

4 THE ISLAMIC STATE:

The Islamic State saw a rapid rise to power in early 2014 seizing a third of Iraq and Syria in a stunning military takeover however since then, the Islamic State embroiled in conflict against an increasingly long list of enemies. In order for The Islamic State to survive it must either defeat or make peace with:

Iraq, Kurdistan, The Syrian Government, The Free Syrian Army, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the US lead coalition currently engaged in combat against The Islamic State until then, The Islamic State’s survival will be under constant threat.

3 THE UNITED KINGDOM:

Scotland may have failed to gain independence in their 2014 referendum, but the Scots won’t give up their quest for independence so easily. Also, there’s simmering movement in Wales and Northern Ireland that seeks autonomy and possibly independence for these regions if any of these regions were gain autonomy from the United Kingdom it’s possible that the union may fall apart.

2 THE UNITED STATES:

Many divisions that caused the United States’ Civil War still exist to this day, if these deep rooted political and cultural differences within the United States aren’t rectified, it’s possible that some states could break free within the next 20 years as recently as 2012, 50 states submitted petitions with hundreds of thousands of signature asking to secede from the Union the two most likely states to leave the Union are Alaska, and Texas.

1 THE MALDIVES:

Located between India and Africa, the island nation of Maldives is in extreme danger of sinking due to rising sea levels. The former President of the Maldives looked into buying land in South Asia to transplant all the residents of the Maldives before the islands are submerged.