When 20-year-old P Afia Magh got on the ‘Octopus’ ride at an amusement park near here on Tuesday, little did she know that it would be her last. The joy ride turned fatal for the flight attendant from Nagaland after she was thrown off her seat at a theme park at Chembarambakkam. Police arrested three park employees, including the operator and manager for the incident.
Lack of proper maintenance of the ride and negligence to check riders’ safety may have caused her death, police said. Kohima-native Magh, who stayed at a rented house in Ramapuram had gone to the EVP World amusement park located on the Chennai-Bangalore highway, along with nine of her friends.
Magh, who was working for a private airline, had decided to spend the day at the park, after the flight halted operations. The 20-year-old and her friends had enjoyed two rides before they boarded the ‘Octopus’. A few seconds after the ride began at 12.30 pm, Magh was thrown off her seat from a height of 10 feet. “The seat belt and the lever to lock the rider were in place. We suspect the lock may have opened during the ride, though the lever can only be opened by the rider,” police said.
The flight attendant sustained severe head injuries and was rushed to a hospital at Poonamallee, where she died. Her body was shifted to Kilpauk Medical Hospital and an autopsy was due on Wednesday.
Following a complaint from her friend Arnab Kumar Chakravathi, a software engineer, police registered a case under IPC section 304A (causing death by negligence) and arrested park manager P Raghu (37), operator C Williams (22) and his assistant V Ashok (20). “She could have been hit by one of the arms of the Octopus, when she was thrown off as there were abrasions on her back. Her father is no more. Her mother has been informed,” said Poonamallee Inspector Siddarth Sankaran.
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