The accident on Alton Towers’ Smiler rollercoaster was caused by an engineer overriding a ‘safety lock’, it has been claimed.
The Mail on Sunday today reported that it had learnt that ‘human error’ and a ‘failure to follow basic safety procedures’ led to the 2 June accident.
The newspaper also alleged that two employees are under investigation for potential misconduct, but that it understood they continued to work at the park in different roles.
A spokesperson for park operators Merlin Entertainments said that while it was continuing to work with the Health and Safety Executive investigation, it would not be able to comment further.
Five people riding the Gerstlauer-manufactured ride were seriously injured when their train collided with an empty vehicle that had stalled further up the track.
It has remained closed since the incident, and is not expected to re-open this season.