Experts explained the danger of attractions in Russia: more than a thousand severe cases

“Mechanisms are outdated, so accidents are inevitable”

Every year, serious incidents occur on Russian attractions in parks of culture and recreation. So, only on July 6 in Novosibirsk the mechanism jammed tightly on the “ferris” wheel, 19 passengers had to be rescued manually. However, citizens continue to go to amusement parks several times a year.

Russians hear about incidents “on trifles” – somewhere a girl broke her arm, somewhere a boy hit his head, but the situation is much worse, President of the Russian Union of Lawyers, Doctor of Law Igor Trunov said at a press conference in the NSN.

This case became known to the general public. And there are other emergencies that have occurred “quietly.” Their culprits escaped with only a slight fright and a symbolic loss of money.

There were more than 1,500 serious incidents when children died or became disabled in 2022, continues Igor Trunov, emphasizing that latent crime in the entertainment industry is huge. Children die from hits by carousel swings, the number of fractures and bruises goes to tens of thousands. However, the organizers receive disproportionate punishments.

So, last year, a four-year-old boy in Tyumen broke his head in the Atmosfera amusement park. The child was prescribed serious treatment, and the entrepreneur paid 50 thousand rubles and continues to work. A seven-year-old girl in Yakutia died after suffering a spinal injury while going down a hill. The owner of the attraction was sentenced to 8 months of corrective labor with a deduction of 5% of the salary in favor of the state. In Udmurtia, a seven-year-old girl broke her leg on an inflatable trampoline. The court awarded the individual entrepreneur 100 thousand rubles a fine. “And even these situations are rare, they have come to a court decision. I’ll say more – it’s not a fact that a businessman will pay this money. Usually, such entrepreneurs have an authorized capital of no more than 10 thousand, well, that is, he has nothing to pay. Most likely, children will not receive any compensation, I say this based on my experience,” the lawyer explains.

Most of the incidents occur on old rides, which are 20-30 years old. “There is nothing to ride on, so the parks are forced to leave such equipment in operation if it is technically sound,” said Igor Rodionov, vice president of the Russian Association of Amusement Parks and Manufacturers.

– The theme of ride safety has not been resolved. While we have people hanging on the viewing wheel for hours, it means that it is clear that the situation is problematic, ”says Tatyana Butskaya, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Family, Women and Children. – There is certification of attractions, there are service companies. But together they don’t work. Until there is a single body responsible for the supervision of attractions, there will be no sense. If an audit comes in that hurts the business, I understand the business. But I also understand the parents. If there is no single body that is responsible for carousels, this is wrong. I will not allow my child to ride.

Igor Trunov was outraged by Butskaya’s words: “I’m embarrassed to hear the statement of a State Duma deputy that she won’t let her child ride. But this is not a way out! Amusement parks are a huge industry. As for, for example, Americans, they visit amusement parks so often that the profit from this industry is comparable to the cost of military weapons.”

But in Russia, the popularity of carousels is no less, although we have much less modern “slides”, “ferris wheels” and “horror caves”. Be that as it may, according to statistics, more than one hundred thousand employees are involved in the amusement industry in our country.

– There are five thousand objects in Russia, which are visited by 30 million people, – continues Trunov. – Prices have jumped several times, but children and their parents continue to use the rides. I would like to add that in the Russian capital the situation is under control, in contrast to the regions where the number of injuries among children is on the rise.