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STOCKHOLM

One dead, seven hurt as rollercoaster derails in Sweden

A rollercoaster derailed at a Swedish theme park on Sunday, killing one person and injuring seven, police and the park in Stockholm said.

Published: 25 June 2023 17:37 CEST
The Grona Lund amusement park is pictured in 2020.
The Grona Lund amusement park is pictured in 2020. One of the carriages of the park's Jetline rollercoaster derailed on Sunday, killing one person and injuring seven. Photo: Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP

A carriage of the Jetline rollercoaster broke away and fell from a great height, taking several people with it, according to a correspondent for Swedish television SVT at the Gröna Lund theme park.

The ride, launched in 1988, travels at around 90 kph (56 mph).

“One person unfortunately died,” Gröna Lund spokeswoman Cecilia Björling told AFP.

Stockholm police confirmed that seven people were injured and taken to hospital.

The injuries were caused by falls, said Stockholm police spokeswoman Helena Boström Thomas.

“We received the alert at around 11:39 am (09:39 GMT), a rollercoaster had derailed and several people were injured,” Håkan Eriksson of the Swedish capital’s emergency services told AFP.

The park was evacuated and police and ambulances were sent to the scene.

“I suddenly heard a metallic thud and then the rides started to shake,” correspondent Jenny Lagerstedt told SVT.

“My husband, who was sitting outside, saw a car detach and fall.”

Culture Minister Parisa Liljestrand told the TT news agency: “I recently visited the park with my family and I can’t even imagine how it must feel when the most beautiful day suddenly turns into a nightmare”.

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CRIME

Suspects held after 38-year-old shot dead on Södermalm in Stockholm

Several people are being held after a man in his 40s was shot dead in Stockholm's Södermalm district.

Published: 7 May 2024 06:23 CEST
Suspects held after 38-year-old shot dead on Södermalm in Stockholm

The shooting happened at around 6.20pm on Monday evening and a huge police operation was immediately launched.

Police cordoned off the area around Helgalunden on Allhelgonagatan, which is close to the busy Götgatan street, Skanstull metro station and the Internationella Engelska Gymnasiet high school.

Sweden’s public broadcaster SVT reports that the victim is a 38-year-old man with links to gang crime, although police said it was too early to say whether the shooting was connected to a gang conflict.

Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet reports that one of the suspects is a man in his 20s, with a police record of a series of minor offences but no violent crime convictions. Police said there were other people in custody too, but declined to say what they were suspected of.

Roughly where the man was shot. Screenshot: Google Maps

The shooting happened in front of several witnesses.

“I live 50 metres from the scene and ran downstairs with a blanket and first aid kit. It was nice seeing so many people already there trying to save a life,” a witness told SVT.

“This happened in the middle of the day near the metro where there are a lot of people. This is otherwise a safe area. At the same time, it’s sad no matter where shootings happen.”

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