Drayton Manor girls dies after falling from Splash Canyon ride.
Hundreds of people gathered at a mosque in Leicester to pay tribute to the girl, 11, who died after falling from a ride at Drayton Manor Theme Park.
She was on a trip with Jameah Girls’ Academy, an Islamic primary school, when the accident happened on the Splash Canyon river rapids ride just after 2pm today.
Staff at the park pulled her from the water and she was rushed to hospital by air ambulance, but she died shortly after arriving in hospital.
The theme park in Staffordshire will remain closed on Wednesday as a ‘mark of respect’, a spokesman said.
A spokesman for Jame Majid Mosque opposite the girl’s school said: ‘The young girl’s death has shaken the community and we’re all devastated.
‘Obviously our thoughts are with the family after this heartbreaking news. Her family sent her off to school in the morning expecting to hear about her amazing day at Drayton Manor but the unthinkable happened.
‘When anyone dies it’s a tragedy but when it’s a child as young as she was it’s just awful.
‘All we can do now is pray for her family and hold them in our thoughts.
‘It will be a painful wait to hear about exactly what happened following a police investigation because at the moment all we know is she fell, not how or why.’
Leicester Muslims Association posted: ‘We humbly request all to make dua (pray) for her and may Allah grant her family.’
Posting in response, several people wrote the prayer: ‘To Allah we belong and to Him we will return.’
The park announced they would be closed on Wednesday following the death.
A statement read: ‘Following today’s tragic events, Drayton Manor Theme Park will be closed on Wednesday May 10 as a mark of respect to the family.’
