‘Euthanasia’ roller-coaster designed to thrill (and kill) riders

Get ready for the ride of your life... which, mind you, will also be your last.

A Lithuanian engineer has come up with a unique roller-coaster concept that not only promises passengers a thrilling ride, but also imminent death at the end of their journey.

According to Julijonas Urbonas, the ‘mastermind’ behind the concept, the Euthanasia Coaster has been engineered to take the life of a human being “humanely, with elegance and euphoria".

Passengers would be subject to many extreme experiences, from euphoria to tunnel vision and loss of consciousness, The Daily Mail reports.

Urbonas, who has been involved with amusement park development since childhood, explained that passengers would die of cerebral hypoxia after being exposed to speeds of up to 100km/s.

“Thanks to the marriage of the advanced cross-disciplinary research in space medicine, mechanical engineering, material technologies and, of course, gravity, the fatal journey is made pleasing, elegant and meaningful,” the engineer, who describes his concept as “artistic and philosophical”, said.

Nonetheless, Dr Peter Saunders, from leading anti-euthanasia organisation Care Not Killing, has criticised the concept.

“Whilst appreciating the artist’s sense of humour and light-heartedness, we also need to remember that the life a human being cannot ever be taken ‘humanely with elegance and euphoria’ and with this method the last sensation would more probably be one of overwhelming vertigo and fright,” Saunders said.

“Let’s hope that this imaginative method never becomes legal.”