Technical Safety BC identifies gaps in communication, barriers, and procedures
Technical Safety BC has released its final incident summary into the August 26, 2025, death of a carnival worker at the Prince Rupert Summer Carnival, concluding the man was killed after entering the active path of a Zipper amusement ride.
Attendant struck while Zipper was in motion
The incident occurred as the travelling fair was winding down for the night. According to the regulator, the ride’s foreman had taken over both the operator’s controls and the loading attendant’s duties. A co‑worker and close friend arrived to help load and unload passenger carrying units (PCUs), a task workers refer to as “cracking buckets.”
The report says that while the Zipper was operating, the attendant moved inside the inner fence line, an area where staff routinely collected tickets and stored patrons’ loose items on the ground. CCTV footage showed the ride briefly paused in a “T’d off” position, perpendicular to its mast, before the operator restarted it in the opposite direction.
During that pause, investigators say the attendant likely attempted to recover a magnetic retrieval broom used to pick up coins or other metal objects under the ride. When the operator resumed the cycle, the rotating boom and PCU approached from behind and struck the worker in the head. Technical Safety BC says the attendant had “entered the path of the moving ride and was impacted by a passenger carrying unit.”
The worker was later pronounced dead by the BC Coroners Service.
Distraction, missing barriers and item retrieval practices
The investigation reconstructs a crowded, distraction‑filled environment around the operator’s station. Three members of the public approached the control podium as the ride was running, tapping the operator on the back and asking for an exception so three people could ride together in a two‑person compartment.
Technical Safety BC notes there was only a waist‑high fence behind the operator, open on both sides, which “does not protect the operator from physical interference from the public.” The foreman told investigators they had previously been struck or punched by patrons while at the controls and sometimes had to divide their attention between the ride and people behind them.
Inside the fenced‑off area, investigators describe an informal “yellow zone” where attendants regularly walked to collect tickets and handle riders’ belongings, and an unmarked “red zone” in the direct path of the Zipper where contact with the moving ride was immediately hazardous.
Technical Safety BC concludes the incident was caused by the attendant moving into that red zone while the Zipper was active and travelling at about three metres per second. Among the contributing factors, the regulator points to “no defined communication requirements or practices between attendants and operators” to confirm the ride was safe to approach.
The report also highlights the use and storage of magnetic brooms and other loose items within 44 inches of the ride path, creating situations where both workers and patrons attempted to retrieve objects under or near the moving equipment.
Same company, same ride involved in earlier serious incident
The fatality came less than three months after another serious incident involving the same company, Shooting Star Amusements, and the same Zipper ride at a Port Hardy carnival. In that case, Technical Safety BC found the foreman’s nine‑year‑old son was helping load and unload the ride when an intoxicated rider fell several feet and suffered broken bones after the compartment was activated prematurely during unloading.
In its new Prince Rupert report, the regulator again emphasizes the importance of formal training, clear zones and communication protocols on travelling amusement rides. While applicable code requirements addressed fencing to protect spectators and riders, investigators note there was no specific direction in the adopted CSA Z267 code on keeping workers themselves out of the ride path, or on protective measures such as barriers or booths for operators.
Technical Safety BC’s report states that unit operation and safety functions on the Zipper were working as designed during post‑incident testing, shifting the focus of its findings to human factors, work practices and gaps in standards for protecting the workers who run carnival rides.
