Minister for Employment Agni Deo Singh says the preliminary investigation into the ferris wheel accident which happened at the Fiji Showcase last week, is expected to be completed by early next week before commencing with a full investigation.
He clarified that the National Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Service under the Employment Ministry had certified the amusement rides installed at the Vodafone Arena for the event before it commenced operations.
He said under the OHS requirements, OHS inspectorates were required to thoroughly follow stringent standard operating procedures before any amusement rides installations.
“This includes the evaluation of the number of rides, its design and layout at the proposed sites with the organisers, amusement ride operators and facility owners,” he said.
“The evaluation also ensures proper ground and surrounding conditions, and that proper and adequate facilities such as water, electricity supplies are available as well as traffic and public movement are accessible and risk-free.
“Furthermore, the procedure involves the review of rides to be used, specifically its structures and operational mechanisms and all rides owners must ensure the validity of the non-destructive testing (NDT) certifications prior to any installations ensuring the integrity of all the load-bearing metals and structures.
“The stringent procedure includes conducting initial ground inspections using standardised checklists of all the rides’ individual components such as transmissions, drives, seats, bolts and nuts, lock pins, springs, lock washers, wires, fasteners, rollers, to name a few.
“Once the checklist requirements are fully checked, the rides are assembled and then inspected again by the OHS inspectorates to confirm the functionality of all the ride components.
“Eventually, the amusement rides are put through operational tests including load test, as well as the conduct of awareness training to the amusement rides owners, workers and operators and their “duty of care” in ensuring the health and safety of all riders and the general public.”
Mr Singh said his ministry had conducted interviews with the two injured patrons and the operator and had yet to interview a few key witnesses.
A 21-year-old woman was also killed in the incident.
