MOA closes ride after person dies on a similar one in Ohio
Mall of America has closed down one of its rides after a ride at the Ohio State Fair broke, throwing people into the air.
One person died when the seats snapped off the Fire Ball ride in Columbus on Wednesday, WKYC reported. Seven others were injured, some of them critically.
And because of the "tragic accident," the Mall of America in Bloomington has "proactively stopped running" Shredder's Mutant Masher ride until the mall has been given the OK by the ride's manufacturer, Chance Rides, MOA said in statements to GoMN.
The rides look pretty similar
MOA says Mutant Masher and Fire Ball rides do share "some design similarities," but they're manufactured by different companies.
The mall's website says the Mutant Masher "sends you reeling skyward on a spinning, swinging device of doom," while Fire Ball is described as a ride that swings left and right like a pendulum, sending people into the air while spinning around, according to Amusements of America (the company that built Fire Ball).
But Chance Rides says there are differences between Mutant Masher (a fixed, permanent ride) and the portable design of the Fire Ball, the mall's statement said without elaborating further.
"[Chance Rides has] advised all customers to take all versions of this ride out of service while additional inspections can be completed," MOA said.
MOA says all of the rides at Nickelodeon Universe are inspected daily.
Other fairs and amusement parks across the country are also reevaluating their rides after the Ohio incident, The Associated Press says.
The Minnesota State Fair told GoMN Thursday it's never had a ride like the Fire Ball at the fair, and it won't this year either.
Amusement park ride deaths are not common
Incidents like what happened in Ohio don't happen very often.
An industry group, the Outdoor Amusement Business Association, estimates about 250 million people get on a mobile amusement park ride every year.
The group then cites a government study which estimated about 2,500 people were injured on mobile amusement rides in 2004.
It also noted that from 1987 through 2005, 11 people were killed on such attractions.
