Oktoberfest freefall ride cleared after worker’s fatal accident

The freefall ride involved in a fatal accident at Munich’s Oktoberfest was found to be technically sound, BR reported. The Munich public prosecutor’s office said it had no objections to the ride resuming operations.

A 52-year-old security worker was struck, trapped and fatally injured by a descending gondola on Monday evening. The ride’s website says it reaches a falling speed of 90 kilometres per hour, although it slows considerably before reaching the bottom.

Investigators are focusing on why the worker was beneath the gondola as it was moving downward. On-site investigations have initially been completed, with evidence secured and the first witnesses interviewed. Police are now examining the working conditions and asking additional witnesses to come forward or submit possible mobile phone videos.

Investigators from Munich Criminal Police’s Commissariat 13, which handles workplace accidents among other cases, said they also had to determine whether anyone could be held responsible. The investigation could take “days, if not weeks.”

The ride’s operators said they would cooperate fully with police and prosecutors. Munich Oktoberfest chief Christian Scharpf said the TÜV technical inspection body and the local building commission had examined the ride and cleared it to operate again. “Technically, the ride has no defects at all. It could run again,” he said.

Yvonne Heckl, a spokesperson for fairground operators, therefore expects the ride to reopen. The trade supervisory authority was the latest body to inspect the operation.

The victim was a 52-year-old Serbian citizen who, according to BR information, lived in Augsburg. Accidents involving fairground workers have occurred despite strict safety checks at the Oktoberfest. In 2024, a 20-year-old worker died after being struck by a train during a test run on the Olympia Looping roller coaster while in the track area. The previous year, a 50-year-old worker suffered life-threatening injuries after falling about five metres during the festival’s dismantling.

Visitors have also been injured in accidents at the Oktoberfest. In 2023, nine passengers suffered minor injuries when two roller coaster cars collided. This year, passengers on a rotating ride were left upside down for about two minutes before being removed from their seats. The malfunction was apparently caused by a defective sensor, and the TÜV later inspected and cleared the ride.