LONDON — One roller coaster car slammed into another Tuesday on one of Britain’s biggest amusement park rides, leaving four teenagers seriously injured and stranding passengers 25 feet in the air, officials said.
Work to evacuate the passengers was still underway three hours after the crash.
A car on the Smiler ride carrying 16 people crashed into an empty, stationary car at the Alton Towers amusement park a little after 2 p.m., the West Midlands Ambulance Service said. It said two teenage boys and two teenage girls suffered serious leg injuries.
The ambulance service said the four were being treated at the scene and would be transported to trauma centers by helicopter. It said the other 12 people onboard were not believed to be seriously hurt.
Musician and radio broadcaster Danny Simm said on Twitter that he saw “people unconscious, knocked out. Blood everywhere. It really was shocking.”
Alton Towers, 150 miles north of London, is one of Britain’s most popular tourist attractions. The park said there would be “a full investigation once all the guests have been evacuated, which is our priority.”