Santa park evacuated after ceiling collapse

More than 500 staff and customers were evacuated from the Santa's Kingdom theme park at Punchestown Racecourse, Co Kildare, yesterday…

More than 500 staff and customers were evacuated from the Santa's Kingdom theme park at Punchestown Racecourse, Co Kildare, yesterday after a ceiling collapsed, injuring two employees.

The accident happened at around 4.30 p.m. when two male employees were working at a part of the set not open to the public.

One of the men suffered an ankle injury and underwent treatment last night at Naas General Hospital. The other man sustained minor injuries and was treated at the scene.

It is understood that the men were technical staff and not members of the cast. The accident was not witnessed by customers.

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Mr Justin Green of MCD, promoters of Santa's Kingdom, said "at no stage" were any members of the public at risk. Health and safety officers were last night inspected the structures and have cleared the building to open to the public this morning.

Mr Green said the accident was of a minor nature, although the exact cause was not clear last night.

He added that he was confident Santa's Kingdom would continue to operate as normal for the rest of the Christmas season.

"The area where the roof collapsed was a backstage part of the complex. At no time were members of the public near it, or in any danger," he said.

"We are confident of Santa's Kingdom's safety and it will reopen, as expected, for business as usual at 9.30 a.m."

Ticket holders for yesterday's shows will be entitled to a full refund or can be accommodated on an alternative date.

Financially backed by Mr Denis Desmond - owner of MCD, one of the largest promoters in the country - Santa's Kingdom came under criticism last week over its ticket prices.

Callers to RTÉ Radio's Liveline programme claimed MCD had published misleading advertisements in relation to availability of tickets for off-peak times, which were priced at a lower rate.

According to the Ticketmaster website, a single ticket on a weekday costs €22.45, while a family ticket for four people costs €75.52.

Olivia Kelly

Olivia Kelly

Olivia Kelly is Dublin Editor of The Irish Times