You have to see this! Roller coaster malfunction leaves riders stuck 100 feet in the air for hours
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A DRAMATIC RESCUE — Videos have gone viral of the terrifying moment when eight high school students were trapped hanging backward on a roller coaster for more than three hours.
The students were at the Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier in Texas riding the Iron Shark roller coaster on Thursday, May 28. The ride features a “100-foot vertical lift” and when the students were almost to the peak of the incline, the ride suddenly malfunctioned and stopped.
ABC News reported the amusement park shut down as rescue workers rushed to the scene.
“We just felt scared,” said Frank Mendoza, one of the students on the ride. “I felt like I was going to fall.”
Footage shows rescue workers on the ladder extricating the students one by one from their seats. One view shows a first responder helping a student carefully make their way down the ladder.
“Any small mistake can be catastrophic,” said Capt. John Fearrington, with the Galveston Fire Department, about the rescue operation.
He added, “The heat was pretty brutal up there. They were pretty frightened, but they were pretty brave.”
All students were reported to be safe. Amusement park officials said the ride will be inspected and tested before it resumes operation.
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