FAMILIES looked on in horror yesterday as a ride operator was struck and critically injured by a rollercoaster car at a packed amusement park.

The 32-year-old man suffered two broken arms and serious chest and abdominal injuries in the accident at Flamingo Land, near Malton, North Yorkshire.

He was hit by a car on the £3.5m Magnum Force ride - Europe's only triple looping rollercoaster - and thrown about 20 feet.

Emergency services were called to the scene yesterday lunchtime and the injured man, from Whitby, was flown by air ambulance to Middlesbrough's James Cook University Hospital.

His condition was last night described as critical by hospital staff.

North Yorkshire Ambulance Service also reported that three people, thought to have been travelling in the car, suffered minor injuries and were taken to nearby Malton Hospital for treatment.

However, Flamingo Land officials said no one else had been injured.

The married man, a seasonal worker in his first year at the park whose name has not been released, was hit as he tried to cross the tracks on the rollercoaster.

One woman, who was standing a few yards away in the queue for the ride when the accident happened, claimed the worker had jumped over a safety barrier.

She said: "The car was full of people and the man was hit full on. It was horrific.

"People were just shocked. They couldn't believe what had happened."

Flamingo Land chief executive Gordon Gibb said the park was co-operating fully with Health and Safety Executive inspectors who were at the scene last night.

He said: "At approximately 12.15pm, a ride operator on the Magnum Force ride was hit by a moving train in the maintenance area of the attraction.

"As yet it is not known why the operator was in a part of the ride where only experienced mechanics are authorised to be."

A Flamingo Land spokeswoman said the injured man had worked at the park since January.

The spokeswoman said: "It was his job to help passengers get on and off the ride and make sure they were safely fastened in.

"As the rollercoaster was coming to the end of the ride, he jumped from the side of the tracks.

"Witnesses said he accidentally mistimed his jump and was hit by the train."

After the accident, the ride was closed and taped off. Members of the public were kept away.

The rest of the park remained extremely busy with the school half-term holiday in full swing.

The Magnum Force ride, which opened four years ago, is one of the star attractions at Flamingo Land and is 111ft high at its highest point, boasting a 3,444ft-long track with three loops and a top speed of 53mph.

It is described as a "monster of a ride which thrusts the unwitting passenger along a mile of twisting track at break-neck speed".

Having been bought in Malaysia, it was shipped across to the UK in 50 container loads with a new roadway having to be constructed to get it into the adventure park without disturbing visitors.

Flamingo Land is the largest privately owned adventure park in the UK and last year attracted 1.4million visitors