Kansas police have said it is being treated as an accident.
AB Wire
A 10-year-old boy has died on a water slide, billed as the world’s biggest in the US state of Kansas.
The boy, identified as Caleb Thomas Schwab, is the son of a state legislator Rep. Scott Schwab and his wife, Michelle.
The incident happened on Sunday in Schlitterbanhn Water Park’s verrückt ride, the world’s tallest water slide, which drops users almost 169 feet (52 meters) at 65 mph (105kph) in a three-person raft.
According to Schlitterbanhn Water Park’s website, the slide required two to three riders to be strapped in a raft with a total between 400 to 500 pounds.
Each rider was required to be at least 54 inches tall. It was not immediately known Sunday whether Caleb met the height requirement.
A spokesperson for the park in Kansas City said it was saddened by the death and the park had been closed pending an investigation.
However, Kansas police have said it is being treated as an accident.
“We honestly don’t know what’s happend, That’s way a full investigation in necessary. We have to understand what’s happend,” Winter Prosapio, Schlitterbahn spokesperson said.
The boy’s family issued a statement thanking everyone who for their compassion.
“Since the day he was born, he brought abundant joy to our family and all those who he came into contact with, as we try and mend our home with him no longer with us, we are comforted knowing he believed in his savior, Jesus, and they are forever together now. We will see him another day,” the statement read.
The ride, which has a height of 168 feet 7 inches (17 stories high), is 5 feet taller than the previous record holder, a water slide at a Rio de Janeiro country club and higher than Niagara Falls. It’s name translates as ‘insane’ in German and was opened in July 2014.