State investigators are continuing to examine the Ohio State Fair ride that broke apart on Opening Day, killing one person and leaving several others seriously injured.
The Dutch manufacturer of the ride is ordering them shut down until they can investigate and learn more about what caused the malfunction. The KMG company says there are 43 such rides around the world, including 11 in the United States.
State inspectors shut down the ride at the Monmouth County Fair in New Jersey - where it is called "The Claw" - as a precaution. Maryland inspectors checked out the ride in Ocean City - where it is known as "The Freakout" - and let it continue to operate.
Ohio Governor John Kasich attended the state fair with reporters Thursday, avoiding the midway. Kasich isn’t ruling out the possibility that this may have been an unavoidable accident. Ohio Public Radio's Andy Chow reports.
The air was full of the typical sounds of the Ohio State Fair, except for the eerie absence of the rides as they stood still. All rides are shut down as the State Highway Patrol carries out their investigation into the “Fire Ball” a giant pendulum that swings riders up to 40 feet into the air.
Gov. John Kasich says it’s too soon to know what happened adding that people always know there’s an element of risk when going on an amusement ride.
“The ability for human beings to avoid an accident if that’s what is ultimately determined that this was simply an accident. You got to talk to the big guy upstairs to figure that one out because that’s a hard one to figure out but we’re doing everything we can to make sure this place is safe.”
Kasich took a tour of the fair but did not visit the Midway with reporters.
