1 Person Is Dead After An Amusement Park Raft Ride Flips

It was a sad scene this weekend. 1 person is dead, and 3 are injured in an Iowa amusement park tragedy. A holiday weekend at the amusement park turned into tragedy for a group of Iowa residents when their Raging River raft ride overturned. The incident occurred Saturday evening at Adventureland Park in metro Des Moines, according to the amusement park's owners. Six people were on the Raging River ride -- which takes people on a turbulent man-made river -- when their vessel suddenly tipped over, trapping them underwater.

One person died and three others were rushed to a local hospital, park officials say. GMA is reporting that the victim was an 11-year-old boy, his sibling is still in the hospital in critical condition. "Adventureland is saddened to learn of the passing of one guest involved in the Raging River accident on the evening of 7/3/21," a statement from the park reads. "This investigation is ongoing and the ride remains closed. Adventureland is working closely with both the State and local authorities."

I've been on several of these types of rapid rides, as I'm sure you have, they are very common. Carowinds has one that has been open for years and Disney World and Disneyland both have versions as well. I've always considered these a fairly low thrill, and by that regard low risk. The main thrill seems to be you just get very wet, with maybe one small drop.  It's hard for some to trust "fair type" rides, that can be torn down easily, but rides that are permanent structures always seem so safe. This was such a tragic situation, hopefully, everyone else will recover and the ride will be permanently closed.