ALTOONA, Iowa — Officials with Adventureland in Altoona said Saturday, four people were injured, three critically, and one person suffered minor injuries, during an accident involving a boat on the “Raging River” ride. In a statement, Adventureland said “At approximately 7:35pm on 7/3/21 a boat on the Raging River ride overturned with 6 riders on it. 4 guests were transported to a local hospital with injuries, 3 critical and one minor.

Altoona Fire and Police were on property and responded immediately. We want to thank them as well as Des Moines, Ankeny, Bondurant, Pleasant Hill and Delaware Township Emergency Services for their fast response. The ride had been inspected on 7/2/21 and was found to be in sound working order. It will remain closed for a thorough inspection.

The ride is located at a remote distance from park entrances, which fire officials said made getting to the incident difficult. The Raging River had just reopened for the first time this season. The ride has been closed since last year. It first opened in 1983.  Saturday’s accident was not the first for the popular ride.

In June of 2016, Adventureland employee Steve Booher was killed while working on the Raging River. He slipped and fell onto the conveyer belt in the loading station. He was taken to the hospital and died from his injuries a few days later.