La Ronde closes Goliath after fatal incident at Six Flags Georgia park

La Ronde has temporarily closed its Goliath roller coaster following a fatal incident Monday at Six Flags Over Georgia, where one person died after falling from the coaster and several others were injured.

The Montreal amusement park announced the closure Tuesday as a precautionary measure. Carole Bricault, La Ronde's director of communications, said the park is "profoundly saddened" by the incident and will not reopen Goliath "until inspection [is] complete and [the park is] certain it can be operated safely." La Ronde's technical teams are carrying out an examination of the ride with coaster manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard, the Swiss company that built both versions of Goliath.

The two Goliaths, built in 2006, are similar but not identical. La Ronde's version stands 53 metres tall with a track length of 1,231 metres. The Georgia version is 61 metres tall with a 1,365-metre track. Bricault noted that Goliath "has been a much-loved ride at La Ronde" for over 20 years and has "welcomed our visitors for millions of safe rides."

Canada's Wonderland, which is owned by Six Flags, closed its Behemoth and Leviathan coasters Tuesday as a precaution. Other Six Flags locations across the U.S. announced closures as well. Earlier this year, Six Flags permanently closed its X2 coaster in California following a CNN investigation that alleged serious brain injuries and at least two deaths.

La Ronde, owned by EPR Properties since March (previously by Six Flags), remains open weekends for its annual Fright Fest, which runs until November 1. In 2012, the park experienced a fatal incident when an employee was struck and killed by the Vampire roller coaster; Quebec's workplace safety commission later found the employee had entered a "danger zone" and fined La Ronde for failing to properly secure the area.