Girl, 4, critically injured in Chessington ride queue fall
- Published
A four-year-old girl is critically ill in hospital after "falling from height" at Chessington World of Adventures.
Jessica Blake suffered a fractured skull, a bleed on the brain and broken ribs, when she fell 14ft (4.2m) from the raised Tomb Blaster ride queue at the Surrey resort on Thursday.
She is being treated at St George's Hospital, south London.
A resort spokesman said the Health and Safety Executive had been informed and its own investigation was taking place.
Initial inspections are focused on a fence panel that lines the ride's queue, according to the theme park.
The family of the girl, who is from Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, told the BBC they had been touched by the scores of well-wishers who had left comments on the <link> <caption>theme park's Facebook page</caption> <url href="http://www.facebook.com/Chessington" platform="highweb"/> </link> .
'Thoughts with family'
The resort's spokesman added: "At 13:00 on 7th June 2012 a little girl sustained injuries following an incident at Chessington World of Adventures, the Resort Theme Park in Surrey.
"The resort's fully trained medical staff were on site immediately and administered direct care to the child until ambulance teams arrived. She was then taken to hospital in a conscious state.
Chessington World of Adventure said an internal investigation was taking place
"The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has also been advised, and we will of course co-operate fully with them on any investigations they wish to carry out.
"Until all investigations have concluded we are not in a position to comment further.
"We have been in touch with the family and all our thoughts and best wishes are with them at this difficult time."
A London Ambulance spokeswoman said: "We were called to reports of a four-year-old girl falling from height. We sent two crews and two fast response cars.
"We treated the patient for head injuries and she taken to St George's Hospital as a priority."
The Metropolitan Police said local officers had been informed but it was a matter for the HSE.