Fairground ride traps riders upside-down for 45 minutes
Just a week after a young boy died suddenly in a roller coaster at the German-American fest in Berlin, 15 people at the fair were trapped upside-down for 45 minutes when another ride got stuck.
The visitors were left hanging head-down more than 10 metres above the ground, terrified that the mechanism holding them into the ‘Stargate’ ride could fail as well.
The ride, which promises thrills without spills, whizzes passengers around in all directions before turning them upside-down. It was in that position when something jammed on Saturday evening.
By the time police and fire fighters arrived on the scene, the passengers had already been upside-down for around 20 minutes, according to a report in the Tagesspiegel am Sonntag newspaper.
Fire service spokesman Sven Gerling said many of those hanging in the air were petrified by the thought that the levers holding them into their seats – and at this stage of the ride, preventing them from plunging to the ground – could come free.
It took another 25 minutes for those in charge of the ride to get it moving again and bring the passengers, some of whom were in serious panic, safely back down. Two of the passengers were taken to hospital for treatment for shock and circulation problems.
The ride was immediately taken out of service and sealed off, pending an investigation.
The death of the 11-year-old boy last week on the children’s roller coaster is still being investigated but is not considered to be linked in any way to the ride.
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The visitors were left hanging head-down more than 10 metres above the ground, terrified that the mechanism holding them into the ‘Stargate’ ride could fail as well.
The ride, which promises thrills without spills, whizzes passengers around in all directions before turning them upside-down. It was in that position when something jammed on Saturday evening.
By the time police and fire fighters arrived on the scene, the passengers had already been upside-down for around 20 minutes, according to a report in the Tagesspiegel am Sonntag newspaper.
Fire service spokesman Sven Gerling said many of those hanging in the air were petrified by the thought that the levers holding them into their seats – and at this stage of the ride, preventing them from plunging to the ground – could come free.
It took another 25 minutes for those in charge of the ride to get it moving again and bring the passengers, some of whom were in serious panic, safely back down. Two of the passengers were taken to hospital for treatment for shock and circulation problems.
The ride was immediately taken out of service and sealed off, pending an investigation.
The death of the 11-year-old boy last week on the children’s roller coaster is still being investigated but is not considered to be linked in any way to the ride.
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