Pirates go from arrrrr to arrrgh! Moment platform collapses during sea-faring amusement park show, sending acrobats plummeting – weeks after blaze caused same German theme park to close

Seven people were injured in an accident on Monday at Germany’s biggest theme park, police said – the second alarming incident there in just three months.

The accident unfolded at the Europa-Park in the town of Rust, near the French and Swiss borders, when a mobile pool cracked and wrenched apart the diving platforms attached to it. 

The force sent several acrobats, who were performing a pirate show, tumbling through the air before they smashed into the water some 25 feet below. 

Moments later the stage collapsed, with various parts of the platform and scaffolding crumbling into the water, narrowly missing the helpless and bewildered performers. 

Police said that five performers and two visitors were injured in the accident, adding that three of the performers were taken to a hospital for additional treatment. 

The cause of the accident wasn’t immediately clear.

Injured performers drag themselves out of the pool amid the wreckage of the platform

The park is a popular tourist attraction that drew more than 6 million visitors last year, mostly from Germany, France and Switzerland.

It has areas with themes based on different European countries, and three based on fantasy settings. The park also hosts conferences and is a popular venue for events and television productions.

But it has now suffered two worrying accidents in less than three months.

In June, a large fire broke out, prompting a park-wide evacuation of 25,000 people.

Video footage showed a huge mushroom of black smoke billowing from inside the amusement park, as shocked visitors stood watching the flames from afar.

People were seen flocking in their droves away from the park while others stood filming the flames.

‘It banged loudly two or three times. After that a huge fire could be seen,’ an eyewitness said. 

A huge fire has broken out at Europa-Park in Rust, South Germany 

Plumes of smoke were seen billowing out of the amusement park as hundreds evacuated 

One man claimed that the fire had broken out on the AtlanticaSupersplash track

Video footage from park-goers shows the huge black clouds of smoke billowing out of the park

Witnesses on social media described the chaos at the park, calling it ‘frightening’

Europa-Park contains more than 100 different amusements, in the town of Rust in Baden-Württemberg.

The amusement park was first opened in 1975, with different additions being added and improved over time.

Tickets cost between £40 and £300 and is located close to the border of France and Switzerland.

It is not the first time the amusement park has seen a fire break out. A previous blaze in 2018 saw witnesses reporting flames that reached 15 metres in height.