B.C. water park begins reopening after June electrical incident that sent 12 children to hospital

After 12 children were injured by an electrical shock at Cultus Lake Waterpark last month, the park has begun a phased reopening starting July 29, following a six-week closure for safety investigations.

On June 15, a dozen children aged 12 to 13 were sent to hospital, two of them by air ambulance with what officials described as “electrical burn injuries.” At the time, police described the injuries as “serious but stable.”

Early in its investigation of the park, Technical Safety B.C. (TSBC) said it found “electrical non-compliances.”

“We can share that portions of the electrical system in the park, originally installed during a park expansion, were not properly bonded or grounded,” Kate Parker, TSBC vice-president of operations, said Wednesday.

Parker said qualified and licensed contractors have made repairs to bring the system back into compliance with the B.C.’s electrical code.

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“The park has also passed a thorough inspection by our TSBC safety officers, and we worked in tandem with Fraser Health, WorkSafe BC and the RCMP, who had their own inquiries and requirements for reopening,” she said.

TSBC has yet to release its final report on the incident.

The 12 youths who were injured were standing in line for the 0-60 Raceway slide and suffered electrical shock and burn injuries when they touched a metal railing in the queue area.

12 youths taken to hospital from B.C.’s Cultus Lake Waterpark after electrical incident

Because portions of the park’s electrical system didn’t have proper bonding or grounding, Parker said, electricity traveled to a metal railing, charging it and shocking the children holding on to it.

Bonding keeps the metal parts of an electrical system as one, and grounding connects the system to the earth, a TBSC spokesperson explained. In the event of a fault, these systems can help trip a circuit breaker to disconnect power.

At the outset of TSBC’s investigation, investigators were looking at the recent installation of a lighting system around cabanas near the slide as a potential contributing factor.

“When electrical faults developed in a nearby building and light fixture, the deficiencies in the grounding system prevented the proper operation of circuit breakers, and the handrail became energized,” said Parker.

TSBC said the facility had its required permits, and that regulators had performed a season-opening inspection at the park and did not find any violations at the time.

CBC News has reached out to Cultus Lake Waterpark for comment.

The waterpark will be partially open starting with limited hours on July 29, 30 and 31.

The hot tubs will be closed until a separate review is completed. Most of the slides are open, but the 0-60 Raceway slide remains closed, along with the Bazooka Bowls, Boomerang and Radical Rapids. The Pirates Cove splash area is also closed.

“Our priority is to complete the review and work needed for returning our waterslide attractions to service first,” the waterpark wrote in a website statement.