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| 'Human error' caused Alton Towers crash | 'Human error' caused Alton Towers crash |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Human error caused the Alton Towers rollercoaster crash in June that seriously injured five people, the Staffordshire theme park said. | Human error caused the Alton Towers rollercoaster crash in June that seriously injured five people, the Staffordshire theme park said. |
| Two women - Victoria Balch and Leah Washington - needed leg amputations after the Smiler ride hit an empty carriage in front of it on 2 June. | |
| Staff misunderstood a shutdown message and wrongly restarted the ride, an investigation by the park confirmed. | |
| No technical or mechanical issues were found with the ride itself. | No technical or mechanical issues were found with the ride itself. |
| The ride, which has been closed since the crash, will reopen next year with improved safety measures. | |
| For updates on this and more stories from Stoke and Staffordshire | For updates on this and more stories from Stoke and Staffordshire |
| "A ride shutdown message was misunderstood by staff at the ride," an Alton Towers spokeswoman said. | "A ride shutdown message was misunderstood by staff at the ride," an Alton Towers spokeswoman said. |
| "This led to a decision to manually restart the ride, overriding the control system without appropriate safety protocols being followed correctly." | "This led to a decision to manually restart the ride, overriding the control system without appropriate safety protocols being followed correctly." |
| A total of 16 people were injured when the carriage they were in collided with an empty one that had come to a halt ahead of them. | A total of 16 people were injured when the carriage they were in collided with an empty one that had come to a halt ahead of them. |
| Merlin Entertainment, which owns Alton Towers, previously said all 16 would receive compensation. | |
| Crash errors | |
| Four people sat in the front row were among those most seriously hurt. | Four people sat in the front row were among those most seriously hurt. |
| Victoria Balch, 20, from Lancashire had six rounds of surgery in a bid to save her leg before needing an amputation. | |
| Leah Washington, 17, from Barnsley, also had one of her legs amputated and her 18-year-old boyfriend Joe Pugh shattered his knees. | |
| Daniel Thorpe, 27, from Buxton in Derbyshire, was treated for a collapsed lung and lower leg injuries. | |
| Another passenger Chanda Chauhan, 49, from Wednesbury, had surgery after suffering internal injuries. | |
| The Health and Safety Executive said its own investigation was "still ongoing". | |
| Alton Towers said it had followed "standard HR procedures and taken the appropriate action" when dealing with the staff whose errors caused the crash. | |
| A spokeswoman said: "The outcome of this however remains a private matter between us and any individual concerned." | |
| When the Smiler re-opens next year, it will feature an additional level of authorisation so no manual override can happen without a senior member of staff, the theme park said. | |
| "We are confident that lessons have been learned and that appropriate action has been taken to address all the issues raised by our investigation." |