Rollercoaster In UK Gets Stuck, Riders Left Hanging For Nearly 40 Minutes

In a nightmarish incident, eight riders, including an 8-year-old girl, were left stranded at the top of a 72-foot-high rollercoaster that stalled at an amusement park in England. According to SkyNews, the incident took place on Friday at the Adventure Island theme park in Southend, Essex. The riders were left hanging vertically for about 40 minutes before they were rescued and returned to the ground. 

A video going viral on social media showed riders of the Rage attraction at the Adventure Island theme park stuck at a 90-degree angle facing skywards. They were left stranded near the highest point of the ride, which is advertised as Adventure Island’s “biggest and best” rollercoaster – with “loops, twists, and flat-out speeds”.

Breaking news. A roller coaster at Southend Theme Park has broken down leaving riders stuck on the lift.#Southend#Rollercoasterpic.twitter.com/td1oYnFQgV

— Supplement Warehouse (@SuppWarehouseUK) July 28, 2023

According to SkyNews, a rescue operation was launched and those aboard were evacuated and returned to the ground within 40 minutes. “Just after 2pm today, a carriage on Rage stopped on the lift,” Marc Miller, managing director of the Stockvale Group – which runs Adventure Island, said. 

“Our highly trained team immediately initiated our ride evacuation plan, which has been certified by the Health and Safety Executives and Essex Fire and Rescue. All passengers were returned to the ground, safe and sound and reunited with their families within 40 minutes,” Mr Miller added. 

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Meanwhile, speaking about the incident, an eyewitness said those on board had to be harnessed and rescued from the frightening predicament at the amusement park. As per New York Post, one mother, who was at the park with her six-year-old daughter, even described the situation, saying that the rollercoaster got stuck during its ascent, just before 2 pm that day.

“It was all quite calm to be fair, the park seemed to handle it really, really well,” the woman said. “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,” she added.