The locomotive hauling cars on a popular roller coaster ride at Disneyland split apart from the rest of the train on Friday, killing one man and injuring 10 other passengers, officials said.
The locomotive on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad attraction broke away from the passenger cars as the train went through a dark tunnel about 11:20am (6:20pm GMT), officials in Anaheim, California, said.
An adult man in the first passenger car of the roller coaster was found dead by emergency workers who arrived at the roller coaster, a train ride that blasts through a Western landscape past falling rocks and waterfalls and through fake mine shafts and caverns.
Disney shut down the ride for investigation.
"The locomotive itself disconnected from the passenger cars. How it was disconnected or became disconnected we are not sure at this point," Anaheim fire and police spokesman John Nicoletti said at a news conference.
A local television station said the injured riders ranged in age from 9 to 47 years old. Eight of the passengers were taken to hospitals, including four males and four females.
Some passengers left the ride immediately after the accident, and it was not clear how many people had been on board, Nicoletti said.
Chairman and Chief Executive Michael Eisner said Disney was working with authorities to find the cause of the accident. "Our hearts and prayers go out to those injured and to the family of the deceased," he said.
Disneyland is owned by Walt Disney Co, the largest theme park operator in the world.
"At this point we don't believe sabotage was involved, but we are going to look at everything," Anaheim police sergeant Rick Martinez told reporters.
Disney last year named a new executive to oversee safety and released a report on efforts to improve safety at its parks, prompted by public concerns in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Disneyland had an estimated 12.7 million visitors in 2002.
Past accidents at Disney parks include the apparent drowning at Disney World in Florida in April 2002 of a man who reportedly jumped out of a tower and fell into a lagoon, and the 1998 death of a 33-year-old man at Disneyland who was struck by a metal cleat at a dock at the Columbia ship attraction.
A 4-year-old boy was critically injured after being trapped underneath a car in the Roger Rabbit Car Toon Spin in September 2000 at Disneyland.
Also a Utah couple sued Disneyland, saying they had been injured in 2000 on the Space Mountain roller coaster when their car derailed during an emergency stop.
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