Authorities investigating after 6 children shocked on amusement park ride

Ocean Beach Park was established in 1940 and many locals say the park needs an upgrade. (Ocean Beach Park)

Authorities in New London, Conn. are investigating possible causes behind an amusement park ride failure that occurred Tuesday afternoon.

Six children were sent to the hospital after suffering from electric shock while riding The Scrambler at Ocean Beach Park. According to FOX 61, the ride operator felt a shock after pushing the stop button for the ride and several kids reported a tingling sensation as they disembarked. One boy grabbed a fence as he was exiting the ride, was shocked, and received a minor burn on his hand.

Six riders were taken to Lawrence and Memorial Hospital for treatment of minor injuries. All six of those kids have now been treated and released from the hospital, according to local police.

“Emergency services transported several children to the local hospital, received some type of electrical shock. The most serious injured had some small burns on the palms of his hands from when he touched the metal railing when he was getting off the ride,” said New London’s Deputy Police Chief Peter Reichard.

After Tuesday’s incident, all of the park rides were shut down while the State Police Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit sent detectives to the scene to investigate the cause of the incident. The area experienced a rain storm earlier that day and investigators believe the wiring, which runs underground for all of the rides, may have been affected by the weather.

The Scrambler remains closed indifinetely while authorities determine what caused the electrical problems but most park operations have resume as normal, reports WTNH.

The incident comes amid a summer of theme park incidents including the death of a 10-year-old boy on the world’s tallest waterslide and a young boy falling out of a roller coaster in Pennsylvania.