The long awaited and highly anticipated Iron Gwazi, officially opens at Busch Gardens Tampa next week on Friday March 11. Iron Gwazi was originally slated to open in 2020 but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is currently enjoying a soft opening with Passholder previews.

Busch Gardens has recently released a statement after a guest reportedly struck their hand on a beam during the ride. The guest has been said to have declined medical treatment which was offered by the park so we are led to believe that it certainly wasn't a serious incident.

Here is the statement:

"We did recently have a guest report that he had struck his hand on a beam while riding the Iron Gwazi roller coaster. That guest declined any medical treatment at the park after the ride was over.

The safety of our guests is our highest priority and all of our rides are designed and installed according to all applicable standards, manufacturer specifications and include specific ride restrictions for the safety of our guests.

Out of an abundance of caution, the morning after this situation, crews removed two beams from the area where the guest reported the situation occurred. We took the precautionary step to remove them as part of our commitment to the health and safety of our guests."

There is some scepticism online regarding the truth about this alleged incident, especially as the new roller coaster has gone through extensive and stringent testing. Also, in reports, the guest appeared completely unharmed which seems very lucky if indeed their hand had stuck an iron beam whilst the ride was in motion. We are unsure of exactly where on the ride the alleged incident happened.

It is, however, extremely positive that Busch Gardens have removed the two beams to ensure there is no chance an incident could occur at that particular point on the ride in the future.

We were lucky enough to be invited to the media preview, if you want to check out all Iron Gwazi has to offer be sure to take a look at our in-depth review, Iron Gwazi Review: Long-Awaited Record Breaker Opens March 11 at Busch Gardens Tampa. Let us know your thoughts on Busch Garden Tampa's new roller coaster, Iron Gwazi by leaving us a comment below or on our Facebook page.