Eliaz, 15, was looking forward to a Sunday at Gröna Lund with his family.
The day ended in total disaster with a fatal accident on the Jetline roller coaster.
Now Elias talks about the horror when he and his family sat in Jetline’s first carriage.
– It went from full speed to zero in just one second, he says.
Already at the opening, Eliaz and his family of five stepped into Gröna Lund – full of anticipation for the day. It would be a pleasant end to the visit to the uncle and cousins in Stockholm. Tracks had been purchased in order to get as much as possible out of the experience.
– We rode what we felt like. We went Monster and Ikaros a few times and then we went Jetline once. I think it was about an hour before the accident, says Eliaz.
While mother and little brother waited on the ground, Eliaz and his father and little sister queued for a second ride on the Jetline roller coaster. The sights were set on the front seats in the carriage.
– I myself sat in the carriage at the front and then my father and sister sat in the carriage behind me, says Eliaz who already at the beginning of the journey felt that something was not right.
Flew around on the seat
– Already when we left the platform, I thought it shook unusually much and sounded a bit strange. Then we went up to the highest point and down through a tunnel and when we came out it shook more than usual and felt very strange.
Eliaz tells how the passengers flew around on the seat, more than is usually done.
He remembers the sequence of events just before the accident crystal clear.
– It was on the straight just before the curve where the accident happened that the carriages started jerking and jumping. First there was a jerk and then another and then it got faster and faster. There were maybe five or ten tremors. Finally the wheel of my cart flew off and flew past me on my left side and was about to hit me in the head.
After that there was a halt and total panic broke out.
– It went from full speed to zero in just one second. At first I didn’t understand what had happened, but when I looked behind I saw how several people were injured. Someone had hit their head, someone was bleeding from the mouth and a wagon was half off the track.
“Was Chaos”
– It was chaos. People started screaming for help as loud as they could as they thought the train was going to derail and we were all going to fall down and die.
Eliaz says that he did not see when some of the fellow passengers flew out of the carriages and ended up on the ground, but says that he later understood that something serious had happened.
However, he saw how a man ended up on a beam where he frantically clung to.
– Those who ended up on the ground sat further back on the train.
Despite the panic and chaos, Eliaz testifies how the passengers tried to calm each other while waiting for help.
– I was embarrassed to fall down because my cart was half hanging outside. But I tried to stay calm and not freak myself out too much. I tried to sit as still as I could as the carriages shook as several moved.
He estimates they received help within 20-30 minutes.
– Since my cart was the one with the most problems, I got help first.
Broke the thumb
Down on the ground, paramedics were waiting to take care of the injured.
– I just felt that I was happy to be off the carousel, that was my first feeling.
When the accident happened, Eliaz was thrown forward in the carriage with such force that he broke his thumb. In addition, he had pains in his chest, legs, neck and back.
The dramatic event has left a deep mark on the 15-year-old.
– I honestly don’t know if I will ride any carousel again. Especially not any roller coaster. You think that something like this shouldn’t be able to happen, especially not in a place as big as Gröna Lund. It’s very horrible, I really feel sorry for those who fell off.
Just a week earlier, Eliaz had been to Gröna Lund and gone Jetline.
– Even then I thought it felt a little extra jerky.
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