44 Chinese Tourists Injured In Freak Wave Pool Accident

We’ve all seen clips of wave pools in Asia with a thousand people bobbing around in innertubes, peeing in the pool and undulating with an occasional rolling groundswell.

And if you’re a hair sadistic, which we’re guessing you are, you’ve probably wondered what would happen if somebody cranked that wave machine up to 11 and let her loose. 

Well, ponder no longer.

Forty-four Chinese tourists were just injured when a wave pool went haywire (or somebody opened up the throttle) in Yanbian, China. According to news reports, seven people were admitted to local hospitals, including two people with broken ribs and two with “blood flow throughout the body.”

The reason for the incident at the normally passive eastern China secret spot is not exactly clear. One news source is laying the blame on a control panel malfunction. But that’s so boring. 

There are other, much more amusing allegations that one of the workers in the park was drunk and decided it was time to unleash the fury. Who knew wave pools were built with a “tsunami” setting?

Whatever the cause, the park’s closed for the moment while police try and sort it out.