“A 14-year-old girl from Copenhagen died on Thursday afternoon after a tragic accident at the Tivoli Friheden in Aarhus,” Danish police said in a statement, adding that a 13-year-old boy had also been injured.

The accident occurred shortly before 1pm local time when a car broke loose from the Cobra ride, said Henrik Ragborg Olesen, director of the Tivoli Friheden theme park.

“It was the back part that broke off and was hanging under the rest of the  train,” he told Danish broadcaster TV2.

The roller coaster on a 400-metre long, 25-metre high track that can reach speeds of up to 70 km/h, was the scene of an accident in 2008, shortly after it opened.

At that time, it was the front part that broke away, leaving four people seriously injured. An investigation revealed a construction error in the Italian-designed ride.

The ride will now close permanently.

“After the 2008 accident and now this one in 2022, we no longer have confidence in the attraction being safe enough for it to continue,” said theme park director Henrik Ragborg Olesen.

Olesen told the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) that the park is offering psychological help to employees and visitors who were near the ride, or on it, at the time of the accident.

East Jutland Police urged the public to not share videos and pictures of the accident on social media, or elsewhere. Those who do have material of the accident have been told to contact the police via 114.

Tivoli Friheden park is to remain closed until at least Tuesday.