The accident occurred at Happyland Amusement Park in Vembayam after a suspected structural failure in the ride’s support frame.
May 28, 2026: Five people, including two children, were injured after a giant wheel ride collapsed at an amusement park in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday afternoon. The incident took place at Happyland Amusement Park in Vembayam around 2 pm during the peak holiday season, when the park was crowded with visitors. Preliminary investigations suggest that a failure in the welding joints and metal support structure caused the ride to break apart while it was operating.
The injured were identified as Manorathi (54), Seemani (49), Malini (49), Shyam Daniel (14) and Rose (16), all tourists from Nagercoil. According to officials, sections of the iron support frame snapped suddenly, causing riders to fall from the giant wheel. Authorities said a major tragedy was narrowly avoided despite the heavy crowd at the amusement park during the ongoing school vacation period.
Personnel from the Kerala Police and fire and rescue services rushed to the site and shifted the injured to nearby hospitals. One woman with serious injuries was later transferred to the Government Medical College Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram for specialised treatment, while the others are reported to be stable despite fractures and other injuries. Police have registered a case and launched an investigation to determine whether mandatory safety inspections and maintenance checks had been properly conducted at the amusement park.