A 14-year-old boy in the southern US state of Florida fell to his death from an amusement park ride that is taller than the Statue of Liberty along a busy street in the heart of Orlando's tourist district.
Police and emergency crews responded to a call late on Thursday at Icon Park, where the teenager fell from the Orlando FreeFall ride.
He was taken to hospital, where he died, authorities said. No additional details about the teenager or the incident were immediately released.
A video aired by NBC's Today programme on Friday morning appears to show passengers on the ride discussing issues with a seat restraint on Thursday night. The ride then begins its trek up the tower before someone is later seen falling from the ride.
“We are absolutely saddened and devastated by what happened and our hearts go out this young man's family,” John Stine, sales director with the Slingshot Group which owns the ride, told The Associated Press on Friday morning.
The FreeFall ride and an adjacent ride, the Sling Shot, have been closed indefinitely, Mr Stine said.
“We are co-operating with all other investigations at this time to get to the bottom of what happened,” Mr Stine said.
He said there had been no issues reported previously with the FreeFall ride, which opened over the winter holidays last year.
The ride stands 131 metres tall is billed as the world's tallest free-standing drop tower, the park's website says.
As it rises in the air, the ride, which can hold 30 passengers, rotates around the tower and then tilts to face the ground before free falling at speeds of more than 120 kilometres per hour, the website said.
The ride has an over-the-shoulder restraint harness, with two hand grips at the chest level, that goes over the rider automatically.
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
Diriyah%20project%20at%20a%20glance
%3Cp%3E-%20Diriyah%E2%80%99s%201.9km%20King%20Salman%20Boulevard%2C%20a%20Parisian%20Champs-Elysees-inspired%20avenue%2C%20is%20scheduled%20for%20completion%20in%202028%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20The%20Royal%20Diriyah%20Opera%20House%20is%20expected%20to%20be%20completed%20in%20four%20years%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20Diriyah%E2%80%99s%20first%20of%2042%20hotels%2C%20the%20Bab%20Samhan%20hotel%2C%20will%20open%20in%20the%20first%20quarter%20of%202024%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20On%20completion%20in%202030%2C%20the%20Diriyah%20project%20is%20forecast%20to%20accommodate%20more%20than%20100%2C000%20people%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20The%20%2463.2%20billion%20Diriyah%20project%20will%20contribute%20%247.2%20billion%20to%20the%20kingdom%E2%80%99s%20GDP%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20It%20will%20create%20more%20than%20178%2C000%20jobs%20and%20aims%20to%20attract%20more%20than%2050%20million%20visits%20a%20year%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20About%202%2C000%20people%20work%20for%20the%20Diriyah%20Company%2C%20with%20more%20than%2086%20per%20cent%20being%20Saudi%20citizens%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
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