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Child Falls Off Pennsylvania Amusement Park Roller Coaster
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Child Falls Off Pennsylvania Amusement Park Roller Coaster

"A full investigation has begun to determine the cause of the incident."

A child fell off a roller coaster at a Pennsylvania amusement park Thursday, Westmoreland County officials said.

An ambulance arrived at Idlewild Park & SoakZone in Ligonier around 1 p.m., shortly after the unidentified boy fell, according to Westmoreland County Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Mary Beth Eslary. The incident took pace around 12:18 p.m. and the child's immediate family was at the park, officials said.

Prior to being flown to the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, the boy was conscious and treated on site, the park said in a statement to Time. He fell from the Rollo Coaster, which opened in 1938 and calls for riders to be a minimum of 36 inches tall. Idlewild has been open since 1878, and is located roughly 50 miles outside Pittsburgh.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the boy and his family," the Idlewild statement read. "A full investigation has begun to determine the cause of the incident. The Rollo Coaster will be closed pending the results of the investigation. We are fully cooperating with area agencies in this investigation."

Thursday's incident is the latest in a string of other catastrophic accidents in amusement parks this week. On Sunday, a 10-year-old boy died after riding a massive waterslide at Schlitterbahn Water Park in Kansas City, Kansas. Two other riders at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, were injured the same day after a ride's launch cable detached. Three children were also injured after falling from a Ferris wheel because of a mechanical malfunction at a Tennessee county fair Monday.

The condition of the child involved in Thursday's accident is unknown and the cause of the mishap is not yet apparent.

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