A 49-year-old visitor to a theme park near Madrid was airlifted to a hospital Saturday after a ride on a Batman-themed roller coaster left him with fractures to both legs, according to local emergency officials. The incident occurred on the Batman Gotham City Escape at Parque Warner Madrid, the park confirmed in a post on X.
The rider suffered an open fracture in his left leg and a closed fracture in his right leg, Europa Press reported, citing emergency officials. Park officials said the ride was stopped immediately and emergency procedures were promptly activated. "The affected person was attended to immediately by emergency medical services," Parque Warner said in a statement. First responders then airlifted the visitor to a nearby hospital.
Another visitor, Juan José Molina, described panic among some parkgoers in the moments after the incident. "There were people crying and having anxiety attacks," he said. The park said the roller coaster will remain closed while management reviews the incident in coordination with authorities.
The Batman Gotham City Escape opened in 2023 and was Spain's first multi-launch roller coaster, according to the park. The ride features three launches that propel riders upward at high speeds and four inversions that leave riders briefly hanging upside down. The attraction is part of the park's DC Comics-themed area, which includes other rides based on characters such as Superman and Wonder Woman.
Parque Warner Madrid, located in San Martín de la Vega about 20 miles south of Madrid, is one of Spain's largest theme parks. The park has not released further details about what caused the rider's injuries, and no additional information about the man's condition has been made public.
The incident is the latest in a series of roller coaster accidents at theme parks worldwide. In recent years, similar incidents have occurred at parks in the United States, including a 2022 accident at Six Flags Great America in Illinois, where a woman was ejected from a roller coaster and suffered serious injuries. In 2021, eight riders were left dangling atop a 100-foot roller coaster for over three hours at a Texas amusement park after the ride malfunctioned.
Theme park safety experts say roller coaster accidents are rare, with millions of rides completed safely each year. However, when incidents do occur, they often lead to temporary ride closures and investigations by park officials and local authorities. The Batman Gotham City Escape will remain closed until the review is complete, the park said.