Tourist falls to her death after giant swing releases too early in Sichuan, China.
NEWS:
A tourist fell to her death from a high-altitude giant swing at Maliuyan Adventure Park in Huaying, Sichuan, China, after the ride’s release mechanism opened before the load-bearing trolley reached its designated safe position.
The accident occurred during the afternoon of May 3, 2026, at the Maliuyan Waterfall scenic area in Xikou, a town administered by Huaying in the city of Guang’an.
The victim, identified by authorities only by the surname Liu, was reported to be 16. She struck a protruding section of the waterfall’s rock wall after falling from the attraction and died while being transported to a hospital.
Investigators preliminarily classified the death as a workplace safety accident caused by a company’s failure to fulfill its safety responsibilities. The direct cause was later identified as improper handling by an employee and the premature opening of the release switch.
Video records the premature fall
Video recorded by another visitor shows Liu wearing a helmet and safety equipment while attached to an overhead trolley system. Employees in red vests stand beside her as she is moved slowly away from the platform.
A person near the camera twice says that something is not fastened tightly. Liu turns toward the speaker and asks what is not fastened. Seconds later, the connection to the trolley releases and she drops below the platform.
The video directly records the premature fall. It does not prove that Liu’s harness or safety rope was loose, that the rope snapped or that she personally warned employees about an equipment problem.
A witness who had been waiting behind Liu said the remark was made by one of her companions as a joke. Huaying’s emergency management director later confirmed that the voice did not belong to Liu and said investigators determined that her safety rope had been fastened.
The official investigation found that the fall was caused by the release mechanism opening too early, not by an unsecured harness.
Attraction was not a conventional zipline
Viral posts frequently described the project as a zipline or cliff swing. Authorities identified it as a waterfall swing known locally as a “big swing.”
The attraction used a trolley to move the secured rider outward from the operating platform. After reaching a designated point, release devices were supposed to separate the rider from the trolley system while a separate swing rope carried the rider outward and away from the cliff.
The correct release point was approximately 10 meters from the platform. The area directly below that point was positioned away from the rock wall.
On May 3, the load-bearing trolley had not yet reached that location when the release switch opened. Liu had only recently left the platform, and a protruding section of rock was directly below her.
Huaying Emergency Management Bureau Director Wang Anquan said the employee failed to respond correctly at the scene. The trolley structure had not reached the safe position when the mechanism released, causing Liu to fall and strike the waterfall wall.
The attraction had been built and operated by Chongqing Adventure Camp Outdoor Development Co. The company’s name on employees’ clothing apparently led some social media accounts to incorrectly place the accident in Chongqing. The park itself is in Sichuan province.
Park and operator shut down
Huaying formed an investigation team after the death. Its initial statement on May 5 classified the incident as an enterprise production safety responsibility accident and announced that the park had been closed for corrective measures.
By May 17, the operating company had also been ordered to suspend operations. People identified as responsible for the accident had been placed under criminal coercive measures by public security authorities. Officials did not publicly identify those individuals or announce formal criminal charges.
Huaying’s disciplinary and supervisory authorities also began examining whether government departments or public employees had failed to perform their oversight duties.
The accident site had no dedicated surveillance camera. Investigators relied on visitor footage, company records, equipment information and technical analysis when reconstructing the release sequence.
Inspection found project safe only if procedures were followed
The project had an inspection report dated January 12, 2026. The report evaluated construction materials, structural components and load-bearing performance using eight national standards.
Its conclusion stated that the attraction could operate safely if employees strictly followed the operating procedures and safety instructions. The inspection remained valid for one year.
The report did not address fall-prevention measures designed to protect riders when an employee makes an operational error. It also did not evaluate whether the attraction had adequate emergency rescue protection for that type of failure.
The distinction became critical because the preliminary investigation did not identify structural failure as the direct cause. Investigators found that the protection sequence depended on the trolley reaching the correct location before the release switch was opened.
Training records reveal safety failures
Authorities found that Chongqing Adventure Camp had not provided documented training covering the attraction’s complete operating process, major safety risks, hazard response procedures and emergency rescue requirements.
The company had conducted demonstrations involving basic rope attachment. Officials said that limited instruction was not equivalent to training employees to identify risk points or respond to malfunctions and operational errors.
Records reviewed during the investigation also indicated that some instructors had failed even parts of the company’s basic rope-skills training.
The attraction reportedly opened to the public on March 15, less than two months before Liu’s death. It was promoted alongside other high-altitude activities at the waterfall site.
The big swing was installed beside a waterfall with a reported vertical drop of 168 meters. That figure describes the waterfall and surrounding terrain, not Liu’s confirmed falling distance. Authorities did not publish a precise measurement of how far she fell before striking the rock wall.
Regulatory classification remained unclear
Investigators and safety specialists also identified a regulatory problem involving the classification of the attraction.
China has a national technical standard covering conventional cliff swings. Those rides generally use a fixed steel structure with a controlled swinging area designed to prevent riders from striking nearby terrain.
The Maliuyan attraction used a different configuration. It combined an overhead trolley, release devices and a long swing over a natural canyon. Officials said no dedicated national safety standard could be located for that specific type of big swing.
An inspection report had approved the structure when operated according to its procedures, but the system did not prevent the early release from placing a rider directly above the rock wall.
As of July 12, 2026, no final public accident report or charging document had been located. The latest official findings remained that the release switch opened prematurely because of employee mishandling, the operator had serious training and safety-management deficiencies, and individuals responsible for the accident had been subjected to criminal measures.
News story written by DarkGore.
