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| Alton Towers Smiler crash: Park to reopen | Alton Towers Smiler crash: Park to reopen |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Alton Towers is to reopen for the first time since a rollercoaster crash left 16 people injured, its owners have announced. | Alton Towers is to reopen for the first time since a rollercoaster crash left 16 people injured, its owners have announced. |
| The park will open its gates from 10:00 BST on Monday, six days after two carriages on the Smiler ride collided. | The park will open its gates from 10:00 BST on Monday, six days after two carriages on the Smiler ride collided. |
| It is understood four people hurt in the crash are being treated in hospital for serious leg injuries. | |
| Owners Merlin Entertainments Ltd said it had carried out "a thorough review" of operating and safety procedures. | |
| And Health and Safety Executive inspectors have also been on site. | |
| Merlin Entertainments Ltd chief executive Nick Varney said it had been "a terrible event for everyone involved". | |
| "We are very aware of the impact it will have on those involved and we are doing all we can to provide our support to those injured and their families," he said. | "We are very aware of the impact it will have on those involved and we are doing all we can to provide our support to those injured and their families," he said. |
| The park "closed immediately" afterwards, he added, to allow preliminary investigations and give staff "time to come to terms with the [crash] and its aftermath". | |
| "Alton Towers has a long record of safe operation and as we re-open, we are committed to ensuring that the public can again visit us with confidence." | |
| Two more rides at Alton Towers will remain closed, Mr Varney said. | |
| X-Sector will be out of action until further notice, while Sonic Spinball will stay closed "until enhanced safety protocols have been implemented". | |
| Mr Varney said the design of the ride meant it would take slightly longer than it was hoped for new procedures to be put in place. | |
| Earlier, it emerged the two carriages from the Smiler ride which collided had been removed by the HSE to be examined in a laboratory. | |
| The two men and two women seriously hurt in the crash all suffered significant leg injuries. | |
| Vicky Balch, from Leyland in Lancashire, has undergone surgery but is not in a life-threatening condition, as was previously thought, lawyers representing her said on Saturday. | |
| It is thought Daniel Thorpe, 27, from Buxton, Derbyshire, underwent surgery on Thursday. | |
| Joe Pugh, 18, of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, and his girlfriend, Leah Washington, 17, are understood to have been receiving treatment at University Hospital Coventry. |