Drayton Manor theme park fined £1million over ‘safety failings’ after death of Evha Jannath

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Drayton Manor theme park’s operators have been fined £1million over ‘systematic failures of safety’ which led to the death of an 11-year-old girl on its water rapids ride.

Evha Jannath was ‘propelled’ from a vessel on the Splash Canyon ride at Drayton Manor in Staffordshire in May 2017.  

Eva, who was visiting the park during an end-of-year school trip with friends from Jameah Girls Academy in Leicester, then plunged into a 12ft pool of water where she drowned.

Lawyers for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) brought a prosecution against the park for not properly ensuring the safety of its guest – saying the operators had overseen a ‘systemic failures of safety’ on the river rapids ride.

A court previously heard bosses at the theme park had raised concerns about the ride three weeks before Evha’s death.

Staff had flagged safety issues in an after-hours work meeting 27 days before the fatal incident, the court heard.

It also heard there had also been four incidents in which customers been ejected from the ride between 2011 and 2013 – including a 10-year-old boy four who had to be rescued. 

Drayton Manor admitted breaching Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act. 

Sentencing Drayton Manor Theme Parks Ltd at Stafford Crown Court today, Mr Justice Spencer said: ‘This was an utterly tragic waste of a young life.’

Mr Justice Spencer said that no sentence could ‘reflect the tragedy of this case for Evha’s family’. 

Evha, who turned 11 just four days before the accident, ‘had a bright future, she was doing well at school and had said she wanted to be a teacher herself’, he said.

He added that Evha’s family, including her parents and older brother, had been deeply affected, adding her mother ‘is still trying to come to terms with Evha’s death’.

However, despite issuing the £1million fine, the judge said there was ‘no prospect of it being paid’ given the company operating Drayton Manor at the time, Drayton Manor Park Ltd, had since gone into administration.

But he added: ‘In my judgment it would be wholly inappropriate to do other than impose the fine which the offence merited.

‘The public and Evha’s family must not be led to think that this serious offence, which resulted in the death of a child, can properly be met by only a nominal (financial) penalty.’

He added: ‘I bear in mind there are other similar rides in the United Kingdom, I bear in mind that this theme park has been sold to another operator and the staff transferred over.

‘It is important that lessons are learned and the seriousness of the defendant company’s failing in this case is marked by an appropriate punishment.’ 

A spokesperson for the current Drayton Park operators said: ‘Drayton Manor Resort acquired the Park out of insolvency in the summer of 2020 when it was forced into insolvency due to coronavirus.

‘We are unable to comment on the outcome of the case as it involves the insolvent business, Drayton Manor Park Limited, which is no longer the owner or operator of the Park.

‘Our thoughts are with the Jannath family and all those affected by the tragedy at this time.’ 

At the start of a two-day sentencing hearing yesterday at Stafford Crown Court, James Puzey, barrister for the HSE, told the judge the accident happened ‘in context of the systemic failures of safety on this ride’.

‘The control measures they had were failing every day,’ he added.  

The court heard from the park’s own barrister Richard Matthews QC, who said it was ‘a corporate failing’.

Evha was ejected from the boat while standing up out of her seat, and although initially unhurt, later fell into 12ft of water after plunging from the conveyor belt which takes vessels to the ride exit.

The HSE’s lawyers said there was ‘inadequate’ signage for those on the ride telling them to stay seated, ‘inadequate training’ for staff, an element of under-staffing and a lack of emergency planning.

Mr Puzey said static ride CCTV only covered 50 per cent of the course and was ‘not an effective means of monitoring the boats’ or their passengers’ behaviour.

The court heard that although signs warned passengers to stay seated, people still got up – but Mr Puzey said the management of that risk was the ride operator’s responsibility.

A technical analysis found that people standing up on the ride was ‘relatively frequent’ and that on ‘9 per cent to 16 per cent’ of journeys, passenger ‘misbehaviour’ was observed.

Re-watching CCTV of the ride on the day of the accident, experts recorded 70 occasions of people standing up in the boats.

The court also heard that in separate incidents between 2011 and 2013, four people plunged from boats – or ended up being swept – into what was the deepest part of the ride’s course, known as the trough, which is where Evha ended up drowning.

Although none of those falling passengers were injured, the court heard details of one involving a 10-year-old boy in August 2013 which bore similarities to the fatal incident.

The boy was ejected from the ride at the same point as Evha and – like her – was not spotted by ride staff, instead being pulled to safety by a quick-thinking member of the public who climbed a safety rail.

After the fatal incident, a review concluded it was ‘an essential requirement’ that those overseeing the water ride made sure people stayed in seats, and could ‘detect and react’ to passengers falling in.

‘A passenger who is in the water and is in the trough is in immediate danger from a number of immediate hazards which pose risks of death or serious injury,’ it said.

The review concluded: ‘It appears that the past experience of the defendant of having people go into water but thereafter being rescued were taken as assurance this was not a high-risk situation.

‘Such an interpretation would be seriously flawed.’

The court was told how a risk assessment from 2014 was in place but an out-of-hours meeting three weeks before Evha’s death had raised concerns over public safety.

Mr Puzey added: ‘There are nine CCTV cameras that were in use at the time of this incident at various points around the ride and at the station.

‘In total, the coverage by the CCTV cameras covers around 50 per cent but these cameras provide a fixed view and do not have the ability to pan about or zoom.

‘There is a camera covering the final bend at which Evha fell from the raft.

‘A report from April 26, 2017, only two or three weeks before the incident records that it was recommended to improve the CCTV to improve monitoring of the ride.

‘Mr Ecclestone, the ride manager, recalls that when certain cameras broke it was decided by management that 100 per cent coverage was not required.

‘The operator on duty that day had not observed any misbehaviour therefore he had not used the PA system to make any announcements.

‘He accepted the CCTV did not cover the whole ride and he had no training in attempting a rescue on this ride and no rescue equipment on the course such as life belts and poles.

‘But the staff had a critical role to play in ensuring the safety of members of the public.

‘A further review was undertaken in April 2017 only three weeks before this incident as an opportunity for operators and attendants to discuss the ride.

‘Amongst the topics talked about in the review was the boat condition, signage and boat signage missing.

‘It was noted that there should be additional signage around the lift area advising guests to remain seated until the ride stops.

‘Issues were also discussed about the emergency stop button being relocated and viewing the CCTV was not ideal as images were poor and there was glare from the sun.

‘There were only 27 days between this meeting and the tragic incident to Evha in that short time nothing had been done to address these matters.’

Mr Puzey said Drayton Manor ‘accepts it failed to appreciate the seriousness of risk identified in this case – falling out and not being rescued’. 

Splash Canyon has never reopened since Evha’s death.