The operators of an inflatable slide company have been fined after a mammoth slide collapsed in Whangamatā with a dozen people on it, many of them children.
JTK Trustee Limited operated an inflatable mammoth slide in December 2020 at the Whangamatā Summer Festival.
The slide was overcrowded, causing it to collapse, with some people falling from a height of 12 meters.
One victim broke both of his ankles and required 11 surgeries, which he has not fully recovered from.
Following a WorkSafe investigation, it was discovered that JTK Trust Limited had been approached 11 times previously.
In 2015 another JTK mammoth slide was overloaded and collapsed, injuring six children in Masterton.
Company director Eric Gerritsen was fined $115,000 for obstructing that investigation.
In 2016, 10 children fell 10 metres after a slide collapsed in Hamilton. Hamilton City Council banned the company from operating at its gardens.
“On top of the latest incident, this company’s safety record is extremely concerning”, says WorkSafe’s area investigation manager Paul West.
“When people are on an amusement device, they have an expectation their safety is being looked after by the operator. Most operators in Aotearoa are aware of this expectation and strive to meet it, but this business has had numerous failings which is unacceptable.” West said.
Testimonials from those who were present at the incident in Whangamatā revealed that no rules were displayed for the slide, no age and weight checks were done and no workers were at the top of the slide to make sure things were safe.
Employees did not help evacuate the slide after it collapsed.
In the Waihi District Court JTK Trustee Limited was fined $350,000, made to pay emotional harm reparations of $40,000, and consequential loss reparations of $12,958.
In a statement, WorkSafe said the slide operators “failed to learn from their past mistakes.”
“Children have again been put in extreme danger by the operators of an inflatable slide who showed little regard for health and safety."
Worksafe has called for all inflatable slide companies to pay better attention to health and safety to eliminate risks as far as reasonably practical.
Gerritsen is the sole director of the company.
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