A composite roller coaster that derailed and wounded two children, including one Vietnamese Australian, at a children’s center in Ca Mau City in the Mekong Delta on March 13 had passed its safety test around one month earlier, according to a Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper investigation.

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Le Cong Son, vice director of the Center of Industrial Safety Registration Zone II (CISR) under the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs (MOLISA), confirmed on March 16 that his agency worked in accordance with the process while checking the roller coaster on February 10.

He added that the ride operating at the children’s center in Ward 5, Ca Mau City, which is the capital of Ca Mau Province, was inspected by a branch of the CISR in Can Tho, the hub of the Mekong Delta.

“We are now collecting information about the accident,” Son said.

He argued that there was no mistake in the safety inspection on the roller coaster because those in charge have been trained well and the checking process was in accordance with regulations ruled by MOLISA.

“The reasons leading to the accident could be the result of overloading the ride, technical mistakes during operation, or the quality of the train,” Son added.

The roller coaster was one of 25 items checked by the CISR in Can Tho and it had never displayed any trouble before, according to the official.

However, inspections at the scene after the accident showed that bolts under the train which connected it to the railway are rusty and contact points had decayed.

The roller coaster ride was produced in 2009 and is able to run at a maximum speed of 18kph on a 116m track. It could carry 12 children in six cars.

Local authorities have suspended the ride following the derailment last week. Around 8:00 pm on Friday, one of the roller coaster’s cars derailed and dropped to the ground.

The accident injured Pranyn Tran, a 10-year-old Vietnamese-Australian boy, and his cousin, Nguyen Kim Anh, a 14-year-old Ca Mau native, who were sitting in the car.

Tran was transferred to a higher-level hospital for further treatment, whereas Anh received medical care at the provincial general hospital.

Doctors said the Vietnamese-Australian boy suffered a serious injury to his chest, collar and shoulder bones, and rib number six was broken, in addition to bruised lungs.

According to Huynh Chi Dung, the center’s director, the roller coaster was installed and run by Ho Chi Minh City-based Tan Dang Khoa Co.

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