One person killed on ride at Iowa amusement park

One person died and three people were injured on a water ride at an Iowa amusement park on Saturday. One of the rafts on the Raging River ride at Adventureland Park in Altoona, Iowa flipped, resulting in the fatal accident, CBS News affiliate KCCI reports.

Adventureland Park officials said in a statement to CBS News that the ride remains closed as the investigation continues. “Adventureland is saddened to learn of the passing of one Guest involved in the Raging River accident on the evening of 7/3/21,” officials said in the statement. 

Adventureland is working closely with both the State and local authorities on the investigation. “At this time, we ask for your thoughts and prayers for the Guest and their family, as well as for our team members who were on site,” the statement reads.

On Friday, the ride reopened to the public for the first time since 2020 and underwent a full inspection first, park officials said, according to KCCI. 

Six people were on the raft when it flipped. Because the ride is at a remote distance from the park entrances, it was difficult for fire officials to get to the location, KCCI reported. 

Lance Routson with the Altoona Fire Department said units walked 200 to 300 yards to get to the ride. “The closest (walked) maybe about a hundred. That’s the closest we could actually get an apparatus there, and they would have to walk the rest of the way and carry their equipment and so forth back,” Routson said. 

CBS News has reached out to the Altoona Police Department for more information and is awaiting response.