On 24 February 2012, 14-year-old Gabriela Yukari Nichimura died after falling from the ''La Tour Eiffel'' drop tower at the

Hopi Hari Hopi Hari is a Brazilian theme park located at Km 72 of Rodovia dos Bandeirantes, Bandeirantes Highway, Vinhedo, in the state of São Paulo (state), São Paulo. It is located 30 km away from Campinas and 72 km away from São Paulo. Co ...

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

Vinhedo Vinhedo () is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the states of Brazil, state of São Paulo (state), São Paulo in Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Campinas. The population in 2020 was 80,111 and its area is . It has a po ...

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, Brazil.

Incident

Nichimura's chair lock opened at about in the air. The chair had been unused for 10 years, due to the seat's location where a person could bump into the metal frame of the

drop tower A drop tower is a type of amusement park ride incorporating a central tower structure with one or more gondolas attached. In a typical modern configuration, each gondola carrying riders is lifted to the top of the tower and then released t ...

. Therefore it was excluded for additional seat belt installation, and the old chair lock could no longer stay locked by itself; it had been opened before or during rides. But there had not been any sign informing not to use, and the parks authorities dismissed workers' warning.

La Tour Eiffel

The drop tower initially opened, along with the park itself, on 30 November 1999. The

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

allows participants enter into free fall from a height of 69.5 meters, or 228 feet (the equivalent of a 23-story building) at a speed of approximately .

Aftermath and investigation

The park closed hours after the accident. A full review of all rides began on 2 March of that year. Upon completion of the review and the signing of a Conduct Adjustment Term (CAT), the park was reopened on 25 March 2012, but the

remained closed. At the time, Nichimura's family planned to sue the park for material and emotional damage, and asked for R$ 4 million in compensation from Hopi Hari and R$ 1 million from

City Hall. On 9 May 2012, the

Public Prosecution Service Public Prosecution Service may refer to: Organisations * Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland * Public Prosecution Service of Canada * Public Prosecution Service (Indonesia) * Public Prosecution Service (Netherlands) * Public Prosecution ...

indicted 12 people for the accident, including then-president of the park Armando Pereira Filho. The park attempted to reach a deal with the family. In 2017, three employees were convicted of manslaughter, and sentenced to two years and eight months of community service and the payment of a minimum wage for a social entity. Another five employees were acquitted. The family and the park came to an undisclosed agreement. On 18 May 2017, the

Supreme Federal Court The Federal Supreme Court (, , abbreviated STF) is the supreme court (court of last resort) of Brazil, serving primarily as the country's Constitutional Court. It is the highest court of law in Brazil for constitutional issues and its rulings ...

discontinued a lawsuit against former park President Armando Pereira Filho. The family received

therapy A therapy or medical treatment is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a medical diagnosis. Both words, ''treatment'' and ''therapy'', are often abbreviated tx, Tx, or Tx. As a rule, each therapy has indications a ...

in the aftermath of the incident.

Reopening

After changes in the drop tower, it was estimated to be back in August 2019, but in June 2019 the management decided against its reopening, due to the need for US$ to recover the equipment and the realization of marketing.

References

Notes

:1. Hours in UTC-2 (

Daylight saving time Daylight saving time (DST), also referred to as daylight savings time, daylight time (Daylight saving time in the United States, United States and Daylight saving time in Canada, Canada), or summer time (British Summer Time, United Kingdom, ...

). {{Amusement park incidents 2012 in Brazil Accidental deaths in Brazil Amusement park accidents Buildings and structures in São Paulo (state) Accidental child deaths Deaths by person in Brazil Drop tower rides February 2012 in South America History of São Paulo (state) Replicas and derivatives of the Eiffel Tower Towers in Brazil