Amusement park Dollywood has temporarily closed its Drop Line ride after the death of a 14-year-old who had been riding a similar attraction in Orlando.
Park officials said the ride at the Pigeon Forge tourist destination was developed by the same company as the Orlando FreeFall at ICON Park in Orlando, The Associated Press reported.
Tyre Sampson fell out of the tower ride and died last week.
Dollywood officials said they have closed their version of the ride “out of an abundance of caution” until more details into what happened in Orlando come to light.
The Drop Line is a 230-foot tall tower that was manufactured by Funtime Rides, which is based in Austria.
“Although Dollywood does not have the specific ride involved in this tragic incident, the safety of our guests is our top priority,” Dollywood told the AP.
ICON Park, where Sampson was killed, said it is working with investigators. It also said Orlando FreeFall, which opened late last year, will be closed indefinitely.
Orlando FreeFall is said to be the world’s largest free-fall ride, towering 430 feet. It was last inspected in December, CNN reported.
©2022 Cox Media Group
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/43ZYOPEFMJHLFI3OQ3B5OXWDZM.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/LW2VP2Y6PJDZPLDJCDBZRFVCAI.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/DV3D5PBQIZFEPANBGDDAZHIA5I.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/V5TWF6CJAZFXBLDTZXOE47OMN4.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/XCS5GJFEOFHDNEZGYXRYOZ35LM.jpg)