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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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TRAVEL NEWS

Stockholm’s Bromma Airport’s future in doubt after it loses 90 percent of air traffic

The future of Stockholm's second airport, Bromma, is in doubt after regional airline BRA struck a deal with SAS that will move nearly all flights to Arlanda Airport.

Published: 17 September 2024 13:13 CEST
Stockholm's Bromma Airport's future in doubt after it loses 90 percent of air traffic

As of January 1st, BRA will operate flights on behalf of SAS with Stockholm’s principal airport Arlanda as a hub, the two airlines announced in separate press releases.

As a result, around 90 percent of air traffic will disappear from Bromma airport, according to the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce.

“I don’t think the airport will survive without us,” Per G Braathen, president of the BRA airline, told a press conference.

“We have been present at Bromma for 25 years and it is not profitable to run this airport. We need to concentrate on Arlanda,” he added.

The deal with SAS extends for over seven years and is worth around six billion kronor (530 million euros), BRA said in a statement.

The airline added that its fleet would be expanded and “more pilots and cabin crew will be recruited”, while ground services and administrative functions would be reduced.

The integration of BRA’s fleet with SAS will enhance Swedish infrastructure but is also “positioning Arlanda as a stronger central hub for domestic and international travel”, SAS CEO Anko van der Werff said in a statement.

Jonas Abrahamsson, CEO of Swedavia which operates Sweden’s airports, said that Tuesday’s announcement meant that domestic flights would now be concentrated on Arlanda.

“Bromma in principle will be without scheduled services,” Abrahamsson said in a statement.

He added that while many travellers liked Bromma, “a consolidation of air traffic to Arlanda is a natural development”.

Bromma Airport will lose its biggest air traffic operator from the turn of the year. Photo: Fredrik Sandberg/TT

The city of Stockholm wants to close Bromma airport as soon as possible to make way for housing and infrastructure, but Swedavia has a contract to operate the airport until 2038.

Daniella Waldfogel, CEO of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, welcomed the announcement and said it meant that the closure of Bromma should be “moved forward”.

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