Oil Leak Found at Tokyo Theme Park Ride during Fatal Accident Probe

Tokyo, April 23 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo police have found an oil leak in the hydraulic system of an attraction of an amusement park in the Japanese capital where a fatal accident occurred on Tuesday, investigative sources said Thursday. A 24-year-old female employee died during a routine inspection after being caught in the Flying Balloon attraction at the Tokyo Dome City Attractions in the capital’s Bunkyo Ward. Believing that the oil leak may have led to the accident, the Metropolitan Police Department is looking into the employee’s work procedures and other details. At the attraction, seats are arranged around a pole that rise to a height of 10 meters. The seats are moved up and down by changes in hydraulic pressure, according to the sources. The MPD during an on-site investigation discovered an oil leak from an electromagnetic valve that controls hydraulic pressure. There were also reports of sluggish movement in the equipment before the accident. The worker is believed to have been trying to clean the electromagnetic valve during the inspection. The accident occurred at around 11:50 a.m. on Tuesday. The woman, who was working while the seats were fixed at the top of the pole, was caught in a gap of about 15 centimeters between a seat and the pole after the seats suddenly fell. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]