Eight Riders rescued from stuck rollercoaster at Adventure Island | World News
A rollercoaster at an amusement park in England malfunctioned and left eight riders, including a young girl, stranded near the top of the ride.
The Rage ride at Adventure Island in Southend, Essex, about 40 miles from London stopped on the steep tracks as it was reaching the 72-foot peak, leaving the passengers lying flat on their backs.
A witness said the riders were stuck in that position for up to 45 minutes while rescuers used harnesses to get them off the ride and onto a platform lift.
“It literally just got stuck, right at the top,” a mother, who was at the theme park with her 6-year-old daughter, told SWNS.
“They harnessed them out one at the time. They were up there for at least half an hour, 45 minutes probably.”
“It was all quite calm to be fair, the park seemed to handle it really, really well,” the unnamed witness added.
“They were reassuring them, there was no screaming or mass hysteria, though obviously there was a large crowd of people around and lots of people there.”
Another witness, Gemma Fletcher, said she heard a “bang” and “some clattering and screeching” before the ride stopped, according to the Daily Mail.
“The riders didn’t seem distressed as there was no audible screaming and no flailing arms or anything. However when they evacuated the ride the first man they took off was clinging onto the lift and looked in a bad way,” she said.
“It seemed like this was a serious, unexpected and unplanned emergency, not something they had practiced for. The staff members looked shocked and worried by the sound the ride made and what happened.”
Another woman, who did not give her name, said she was “so scared” when the ride stopped because her brother was on it, but said “surprisingly he was fearless about it,” the Daily Mail reported. The carriages are still stuck on at the top, according to one witness.
The local law enforcement authority is yet to share any official statement.
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