Was Evha killed by second raft?

DETAILS EMERGING from the investigation into the death of Evha Jannath at Drayton Park have raised the horrendous possibility that the 11 year old did not lose conciousness but was mown down by a second raft.

Evha was on a school day trip with fellow pupils from the Jameah Girls Academy in Leicester. She was riding in a raft on the Splash Canyon ride at the Staffordshire theme park when she fell into the water. She was rescued from the water and given first aid before paramedics arrived, who continued treatment before Evha was airlifted to Birmingham Children’s Hospital, where she sadly died.

At first it was thought that Evha had hit her head when she fell into the water and had lost conciousness – which had delayed her trying to get out of the water. Friends in the raft reported having screamed for help, with Park staff initially assuming they were messing about – until teachers arrived and confirmed there was a girl missing.

New reports now suggest that Evha was trying to get back out of the water and was hit by a second raft following down the course after the one in which she had been riding. A raft weighs in the region of half a ton: the slight little girl would never have been able to stand up to the force of such a heavy object travelling at speed.

Two other pieces of information support the new theory.
•First, it was assumed that the water in the Canon ride was deep and if Evha had been knocked unconscious she could have been trapped and unable to try to escape. It has now been suggested that the water where the incident occurred was only 20 inches deep.
•Second, the post mortem examination has concluded that Evha died as a result of injuries to her chest – without clarifying how she sustained those injuries. The first theories, about Evha hitting her head and losing consciousness, are not consistent with this finding – though the new theory is very consistent with it.

The new theory – if confirmed by the investigation – throws the spotlight back on to Drayton Manor’s emergency procedures. If staff had been on watch – much as a life guard watches a swimming pool or stretch of beach – and if the ride had had an emergency switch, could staff have reacted quickly and stopped the second raft before it hit Evha.

The Staffordshire Coroner has formally opened an inquest into Evha’s death. The Health & Safety Executive and Staffordshire police are continuing with their investigations. Parents of children who might be going to theme parks this summer will be hoping their findings are quickly made public – and that theme parks across the UK learn lessons from this tragedy.

•Read more about it:
•Jameah school outing ends in tragedy
https://eastlondonnews.co.uk/13930-2/
•Water rides close-down in wake of Evha tragedy
https://eastlondonnews.co.uk/water-rides-close-wake-evha-tragedy/

[Adverts]