As reported earlier on Easter Monday, April 25, 2011, five guests on board of one of the trains of Big Thunder Mountain were injured. After various versions of the original accident reports with partially contradicting details it seems the French daily Le Parisien has now published what – at this time – should be considered the definitive version of the facts (even so obviously not concerning the cause for the accident).

So this is what seems to have happened:

In the tunnel housing the coasters final lift hill (“lift C”) one of the set pieces fell off the walls or the ceiling (no details have been released concerning this). The cause for this is unknown. However, it has to be considered that the tunnel housing “lift C” is also home to the “earthquake scene” of Big Thunder Mountain. Once a train rolls up the lift hill  movement of rockwork on the walls and above the guests together with lighting and sound effects is supposed to simulate an earthquake with an explosion followed by the tunnel supposedly caving in on the train, revealing a vein of gold just as the train – normally – would escape at the last second onto the final section of the coaster track.

Original reports stated that the set piece, some fake rockwork consisting (as confirmed by Thierry Bonnet, deputy prefect of Seine-et-Marne) of fiberglass and wood fell onto the train injuring five of the 25 guests on board. However, it has now been determined that set piece did not actually fall on the guests. Instead it fell onto the track in front of the train. Once the train was pulled up the lift hill it hit the fake rockwork on the track resulting it in being flung upwards and then hitting 5 of the guests on board and injured them around 2:50 pm, April 25, 2011.  (more…)