As of: April 2, 2024, 4:15 p.m
By: Mick Oberbusch
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The public prosecutor's office is now investigating the tragic accident in Phantasialand in which an employee lost his life on March 25th.
Brühl - The new summer season has officially been running in Phantasialand in Brühl (Rhein-Erft district in North Rhine-Westphalia) since March 28th, 2024 - but in the background, the process of coming to terms with the great tragedy of March 25th is also progressing. On that day, a 43-year-old amusement park employee was hit on the head while doing maintenance work on the “Taron” roller coaster and lost his life a short time later. The Cologne public prosecutor's office is investigating, as spokeswoman Gianna Graf announced on Tuesday (April 2nd) when asked by 24RHEIN.
After fatal Phantasialand accident: public prosecutor's office investigates
Fatal accident in Phantasialand
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What happened?
On March 25th, an employee at the Phantasialand theme park was hit on the head during maintenance work on the “Taron” roller coaster and subsequently died.
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What is known about the deceased?
The deceased was 43 years old and, according to relatives, was involved in building “Taron” and said it was “his baby”. He leaves behind a grieving wife, daughter, granddaughter and other grieving family members. As part of a fundraising campaign, more than 20,000 euros were collected for the widow.
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What happens now?
When asked, the Cologne public prosecutor's office announced on April 2nd that it was now investigating whether a crime or criminally relevant behavior could be involved. Accordingly, third-party negligence in the accident cannot currently be ruled out.
Accordingly, it is now being examined, among other things, whether there could be third-party negligence in the accident. “As a law enforcement agency, we investigate if there could be a crime or criminally relevant behavior,” says Graf. This is common practice for the public prosecutor's office in work-related accidents of this type. Further information about the accident or the circumstances is not yet available at this time. “We are still at the very beginning of the investigation,” explains the spokeswoman.
Fatal accident on Phantasialand roller coaster “Taron” – family launches appeal for donations
A fatal accident occurred on the “Taron” roller coaster, and the Cologne public prosecutor’s office (IDZRNRW-Montage) is now investigating. © Steinach/Imago & Phantasialand
The public prosecutor's office has also not yet been able to confirm reports that a warning tone indicating that the roller coaster was approaching had gone off shortly before the fatal accident. The accident caused great consternation not only among theme park fans and Phantasialand itself. Shortly after the terrible incident became known, the family of the deceased 43-year-old launched a fundraising appeal for the employee's widow, which reached its fundraising goal of 20,000 euros shortly after publication.
Call for donations after Phantasialand tragedy: Widow now has “one less thing to worry about”
On Maundy Thursday (March 28), the initiator of the campaign, a brother-in-law of the deceased, thanked the donors. “In fact, we were able to keep the campaign secret from my sister until today. When we told her about our great success today, she couldn't believe it. This relieves her of a large financial burden and means she has one less thing to worry about. My joy at the success cannot be expressed in adequate words,” he writes on the “GoFundMe” platform.
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