Random Horrifying And Unexpected Ways You Can Die At A Water Park (10 items)

• 

  (#8) Ride Malfunction

  One of the biggest concerns when going to an amusement park of any kind is the possibility of a ride malfunctioning and killing everyone. Ride malfunctions rarely happen, but when they do, it's not pretty. At Queensland Australia's Dreamworld, four people died while on the Thunder River Rapids ride. During their ride, a malfunction caused two people to be thrown from the raft while another two were stuck inside the upturned vehicle and dragged along a conveyor belt. 

  Tragically, in 2016, a young child was decapitated on a water ride at Schlitterbahn water park in Kansas City.
• 

  (#1) Chlorine Gas Inhalation

  Water parks may be the grossest kind of amusement park you can visit. There are kids running around, people are definitely peeing in the lazy river, and you never know what gross summer cold someone is carrying around with them. To combat the germs that people carry with them, water parks use muriatic acid and sodium hydrochlorite, two common household pool chemicals, to clean their water. But here's the rub: when those things combine they can create chlorine gas. When you inhale the gas, your air passages are obstructed, you start vomiting, and if you breathe enough of the deadly substance, your entire insides spew out of your body and you die.

  On July 11, 2014, at Michigan's Adventure, more than 50 of the park's visitors were hit with a chlorine gas cloud and had to be evacuated from the park before the situation turned deadly. Muskegon County Hazmat Official and Muskegon Heights Fire Chief Christopher J. Dean said, "Normally, it's so diluted it doesn't create a problem. It's too early to make a clear determination on what caused it."

  Unfortunately, that wasn't just a one-time occurrence. A year later, 34 children had to be evacuated from a water park in Antioch, California, and treated for minor respiratory issues after being exposed to a chemical cloud.
• 

  (#9) Animal Attack

  Animals don't want to be in water parks, they don't want to be in zoos, and if they are in those places, they don't want you getting up in their grills. There have been multiple instances of an animal killing someone who managed to get to close to a creature who's just trying to live its life in captivity.

  Leah Edgar, a British tourist, lucked out when she survived an attack from a 700 lb sea lion with which she was trying to take a selfie. The sea lion, Rocky, sank its teeth into her thigh. Leah was okay after the attack, but things could have been much worse. 
• 

  (#4) Drowning

  Obviously, the greatest threat to human life in a water park is drowning. With all of that water, and under-trained seasonal employees, it's hard to believe that there aren't more drowning deaths every year. At the Wild Waves Water Park in Washington state, a 32-year-old man was submerged for over 15 minutes before lifeguards found his body.

  According to Time, a group of children had alerted a life guard to the man's body much earlier, but the 21-year-old guard assumed they were pranking him. The man's body wasn't found until another life guard dove into the pool to retrieve a guest's glasses. According the deceased's friend, he had mentioned that he wasn't a strong swimmer before going to the park.

  If you can't swim, or aren't great at swimming, please stay home. Or work on your tan. Just don't get in the water if you don't think you can handle it. 
• 

  (#2) Electrocution

  Despite everyone knowing that water and electricity don't mix, man has insisted on putting electrically powered machines smack dab in the middle of water parks. Most rides are actually pretty safe for park visitors, but for the workers who make sure they're running properly, death can be waiting around the corner. In November 2016, Leopoldo Buenaventura was working on the Men in Black: Alien Attack ride at Universal Orlando and received enough of a shock that his heart stopped. He was alone while he was working and wasn't found until 2 AM after dying in the rafters of the ride. 
• 

  (#6) Bacterial Infection

  Even though water parks are religiously cleaned with chemicals that can easily be turned into a poisonous gas, that doesn't mean that bacteria and diseases aren't mutating in order to stay alive in the places you go to have a fun summer party time. In 2016, Lauren Seitz, a young woman on a trip to a North Carolina water park with her church group, became infected with Naegleria fowleri, an amoeba that can cause a rare and deadly brain infection. Seitz died from the infection, and areas of the park that were deemed more likely to host the amoeba were closed for testing. 

New Random Displays    Display All By Ranking