Rollercoaster crash confusion amid new claims young woman fell from ride at Royal Melbourne Show

Eyewitnesses to a rollercoaster crash that left a woman, 26, fighting for life claim she had been on the ride. 

Horrified families watched on as the chaos unfolded at The Rebel Coaster on Sunday with paramedics treating the woman for serious facial injuries at the scene before taking her to hospital in a critical condition. 

On Monday, police claimed the woman was struck by the ride at the Royal Melbourne Show while trying to retrieve her mobile phone from the tracks.

But witnesses have cast doubt on the cause, claiming the young woman had been onboard the rollercoaster. 

‘She flew from the ride, loud bang. Followed by a scream and very loud crack of her hitting the ground,’ one eye witness stated on social media. 

‘I was standing right next to it when it happened. Poor girl laying in a large pool of blood as medical response was so slow!’

‘My daughter was there too and they have called Crimestoppers as they felt like she had fallen from the ride too,’ another person wrote. 

Passengers on the ride had been left stranded atop the rollercoaster for hours after the ride was shut down. 

One witness, who had been positioned next to the ride, claimed police assertions the woman had been retrieving a phone were not accurate. 

‘I did not see her walking or climbing on the tracks at all, we saw her flying from the ride, where she landed and how she landed is not consistent with being hit,’ a woman claimed.

‘Not from what we witnessed. We were standing right next to the ride when it happened.’

The witness had taken her young son on the ride shortly before the accident. 

‘We saw her fall from the ride, (heard) the scream and the crack of her hitting the ground. My husband was one of the first on the scene. We were standing right next to it when it happened ,’ she said. 

In a statement issued by Victoria Police, investigators claimed the woman ‘may’ have walked onto the track to try and retrieve a dropped phone.

‘Sadly the woman was then found injured on the ground,’ police stated. 

Others on the ride were left stranded atop the rollercoaster for some time with the ride immediately shut down

A woman remains in a critical condition after a tragic rollercoaster incident in Melbourne 

One passenger alleged they were forced to carry their personal belongings with them onto the ride. 

‘They made you take your belongings on the ride with you! I went on Friday and they made me take my bag and bottle of coke on it. I was freaking out that I was going to drop something,’ the woman stated. 

‘You didn’t have a choice. I was on it today and had to take my sunglasses and hold on to them very tightly. They should have had lockers,’ another said.    

A spokesperson for The Royal Melbourne Show told Daily Mail Australia it was working with authorities to ascertain how the tragedy happened.

‘We are working closely with the ride operator, WorkSafe Victoria and Victoria Police to investigate the issue further, however we can confirm that no one has fallen from the ride,’ it said.

‘The ride in question will be closed for the foreseeable future and updates will be made as information comes to hand.

‘The visitor has been taken to hospital for further assessment.

‘The safety and well-being of our visitors to the Show is our number one priority.’

The family-friendly event is running from September 19 to 29 after being cancelled for the past two years due to the Covid pandemic.