Roller coaster incident at US theme park kills one and injures several

One person has died and several others have been injured in an incident involving a Six Flags roller coaster in Georgia, according to police.

The incident took place at Six Flags Over Georgia, about 24 kilometres north-west of Atlanta, according to the Cobb County Police Department.

Detectives from the department's major crimes unit will investigate the incident.

Officials did not confirm how the person died or what caused the injuries.

A Six Flags spokesperson said the park and local authorities responded immediately and are fully cooperating with the investigation.

Authorities and Six Flags did not identify the roller coaster.

However, local TV stations showed video of passengers being evacuated from the Goliath coaster.

The roller coaster, which was opened in 2006, goes as fast as 113km/h and reaches heights of 61m, the park's website reports.

During about three and a half minutes, riders "navigate through razor-sharp turns and soar over colossal hills", according to the website.

"I cannot imagine the horror the patrons and employees witnessed today, and my heart aches for the family who lost a loved one," Cobb County Board of Commissioners chairwoman Lisa Cupid said.

She said the person's next of kin had been notified.

She said the amusement park was a major part of the county's tourism.

"We are all grappling with how something so devastating could happen at a place that has given generations of families such happy memories," she said.

This death would be at least the seventh at the Georgia park, including one in 2006 in which a man had a likely heart attack on the Goliath coaster, according to the Doan Law Firm, whose practice areas include amusement park accidents.

Last month, Six Flags Magic Mountain in southern California announced it was retiring its famous X2 roller coaster amid lawsuits alleging that the ride caused serious brain injuries.

Six Flags recently settled a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by the family of a 22-year-old man who died after riding the coaster in 2022, and three more lawsuits alleging traumatic brain injuries were filed last week.

Last year, a 32-year-old man died after riding a high-speed roller coaster at Universal Epic Universe theme park in Florida.

He died from blunt impact injuries, and his death was ruled accidental.