Three people have injured their backs and necks at the Järvsö mountain bike facility in a short time and are at risk of permanent paralysis. All accidents have occurred on the track "twist twist". It is classified as a red joint, ie the second most difficult on a four-point scale.
One of the injured is 34-year-old Alexander, who is currently being cared for at the University Hospital in Lund. He crashed at a so-called drop, a jump from a ledge with a height difference downwards. Less than two weeks earlier, another accident occurred at the exact same place.
The plant is surprised by the damage.
- We do not understand anything, says CEO Lars Ek Lööv.
- It's not the most difficult game on the track or so.
A third person was seriously injured in a jump in another part of the track.
Unclear exactly what happenedExactly what happened at the time of the accident is not completely clear.
- It's like a ski slope. We have not been there and seen it with our own eyes.
According to witnesses, the first accident occurred when a man approached the drop at low speed and then tipped over. What happened in other cases is more uncertain.
Lars Ek Lööv says that the tracks are equipped with several warning signs. At the beginning of the trails in question, there are also additional boards that inform that experience is required to cycle the trail. They also provide courses and training in, among other things, jumping technique.
- There is a risk, and we are talking about it.
Järvsö mountain railway has been open for ten years. Last year, about 270,000 rides were registered, which resulted in 27 ambulance cases. But no previous event has had as serious consequences as the last three.
The facility has now closed the upper, accident-affected part of the trail and contacted the Canadian company that helped design the tracks.
- We try to analyze what happened to see what we can do and if we can do it in any other way. We want people to be able to come here and have fun, says Lars Ek Lööv.