Twenty-seven people have been rescued after becoming stuck on a rollercoaster at the Pleasurewood Hills theme park in Lowestoft in Suffolk.
The group were stranded on the Wipeout ride when the carriages came to a stop on the track on Monday at around 1pm, leaving the riders suspended approximately nearly 50 ft (15 metres) in the air, but not upside down.
Firefighters have now rescued all the passengers and brought them safely to the ground using an aerial ladder and a scissor lift. No one was injured.
The alarm was raised at around 1:26pm according to the Suffolk County Council website and in an update by the fire service earlier on Monday afternoon.
open image in galleryAdvanced rescue equipment was used to bring down the individuals who appear to have been left in the air for nearly three hours.
Images from the scene show people belted into the ride while it remains at a standstill. Firefighters could be seen working on cranes to assist those trapped.
The rollercoaster was launched in 2007 at which point it was described as the “tallest, fastest and most extreme ride in East Anglia.”
The attraction is the theme park’s flagship ride, according to the Pleasurewood Hills website, and stands at over 40 metres (131 ft) tall while reaching speeds of up to 50mph.
open image in galleryIn July 2024, the ride reportedly ground to a halt after what a spokesperson called a “temporary stoppage”. Riders were returned to the station so they could disembark within 22 minutes.
“It is important to note that the ride safety system functioned in the way it is designed to do and at no point were any guests at risk,” a spokesperson said at the time, according to the Lowestoft Journal.
Another incident reportedly took place in 2017 when a man was rescued from the ride after it broke down. Around 20 firefighters rescued the man who was in his 40s in an incident that was reported to have lasted around two hours.
The Independent has approached Pleasurewood Hills for comment.