Alton Towers Victim Vicky Balch Has Leg Amputated After Bravely Undergoing Seven Surgeries To Save It

A second young woman injured in the Alton Towers rollercoaster crash has had her leg amputated, after undergoing seven surgeries to try and save it.

Vicky Balch, 20, from Lancashire, was one of five people seriously injured when the Smiler ride collided with an empty carriage on June 2, and had her right leg amputated below the knee on Friday.

Her lawyer Paul Paxton said Miss Balch's bravery in fighting to keep her leg "has not been rewarded".

Mr Paxton, head of personal injury at Stewarts Law, said: "Vicky has had a long and incredibly painful fight to retain her leg. Regrettably, her bravery has not been rewarded.

"The step was taken to remove the leg following seven bouts of surgery. Further surgery will be required in the immediate future, which may involve a more acute amputation."

Alton Towers victim Vicky Blach has had her leg amputated

He said Vicky's family continue to be grateful for the support they have received, but wanted "privacy during this difficult period of rehabilitation".

Fellow victim Leah Washington, 17, had her leg amputated above the knee earlier this month.

Miss Balch has previously said that she "just wanted to die" as she waited hours to be rescued from the ride.

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Miss Balch was sitting in the front seats alongside Miss Washington, Miss Washington's boyfriend Joe Pugh, 18, who shattered his knee, and Daniel Thorpe, 27, a hotel assistant-manager from Buxton, in Derbyshire, who was treated for a collapsed lung and fractured leg.

Chandaben Chauhan, 49, of Wednesbury, West Midlands, also suffered injuries.

Miss Balch, who had a four-and-a-half hour wait for rescue, has previously told the BBC: "It felt like slow motion. We banged into the car in front. I felt the bars go into my knees; we moved backwards and the car went into us again.

"I passed out. I was awoken by Dan shouting my name. Everyone was screaming and I was in excruciating pain. I looked down and I could see blood all over.

"The bars were in my right knee.

Emergency services work to free trapped passengers

"The only thought that was going through my mind for the hours and hours that we were stuck was that we were going to die. If I was going to survive I would never walk again, that was certain.

"I thought it was never going to end. I just wanted to die."

SEE ALSO

Alton Towers Rollercoaster Crash: Victim Leah Washington Has Leg Amputated Above The Knee

Alton Towers Amputee Leah Washington 'Stands Up' For The First Time, Uniting Her Family With 'Her Amazing Strength'

Alton Towers Rollercoaster Crash Victim Joe Pugh Describes Accident That Left Girlfriend Leah Washington With Amputated Leg