Bautista Riera, a 12-year-old boy from Argentina, is in a critical condition being paralyzed from the neck down after going on a sudden-drop ride at Disneyland Paris.
Bautista Riera is in intensive care after riding the amusement park’s Twilight Zone Tower of Terror attraction which simulates a lift plunging 199 ft after being hit by lightning.
According to reports, x-rays showed the boy suffered a “spine and bone contusion”.
Bautista Riera reportedly complained to his father, a doctor, that he felt sick shortly after leaving the ride and was taken to the park’s infirmary.
The boy’s condition rapidly deteriorated and he was taken to Paris’ Necker hospital for children.
By the time Bautista Riera arrived at the hospital’s neurology unit he was already paralyzed in his upper limbs.
The paralysis quickly spread to his lower limbs and he suffered respiratory arrest before being rushed to intensive care.
According to a report in the Buenos Aires Herald, Bautista Riera suffered spinal cord injuries and is in a serious condition.
Bautista Riera’s uncle told the paper that the boy’s condition has stabilized although he is breathing with the help of an artificial respirator after suffering complications and pneumonia.
Disneyland Paris is Europe’s most popular tourist attraction and the Tower of Terror, which was opened in 2008, is one of its most adrenalin-fuelled rides.
On its website Disneyland Paris states: “Prepare yourself for a mind-blowing adrenalin rush The ascent is followed by a dizzying drop faster than the speed of gravity. The abyss awaits you – Drop in if you dare!”
According to the boy’s family, Bautista Riera was in good health and played rugby, basketball and practiced martial arts.
A spokesman for Disneyland Paris said Bautista Riera had been on three rides at Walt Disney Studios before feeling unwell.
The spokesman said: “When he was accompanied to the care centre, the child could walk.”
In 2009, a British teenager claimed that going on an almost identical Disney ride at the Florida park had caused her to suffer a heart attack.
In 2005, the then 16-year-old Leanne Deacon’s heart stopped and she suffered a brain hemorrhage after riding the Disney World-MGM Studios’ The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror ride several times.
A trial is due to start next year.
