DOHA: Some children were stuck during a fun ride at the Villaggio’s Gandolania Theme Park yesterday due to a technical fault. The ride stopped working when the children were in mid air.
Civil Defence personnel rushed to the spot to rescue the children. Following the incident, the Villaggio management has closed down the theme park, Al Sharq reported yesterday.
The Ministry of Interior confirmed the incident on the Twitter, while Al Sharq said quoting Villaggio officials that the park will be reopened to public after maintenance work.
Reports of the incident, meanwhile, evoked angry response from people, some of whom wrote on local social networking sites that the name of the Villaggio had become synonymous with horror. The commentator was obliquely referring to the May 28 fire in which 19 people, including 13 children, perished in the tragedy.
Another commentator wrote that the children were stuck mid air for close to 30 minutes. “Pray for them,” he said. He must have, obviously, posted the comment before the rescue operations began.
A third commentator said that this was not the first time that a ride at the Villaggio had run into problems and children were stuck mid air. “There was a similar incident before the May 28 fire,” he claimed.
So fearful was one parent that he wrote that even if his children insisted that they be taken to Villaggio he would not budge. “Saftey is more important than entertainment,” he said.
While yet another commentator said tongue in cheek reacting to yesterday’s incident: “If you want to experience sadness and agony then take your children to Villaggio.”
The Peninsula
