Rollercoaster stuck in mid-air after rider’s scarf gets sucked into a wheel
A rollercoaster carriage had to be evacuated nearly 200 feet (60 metres) in the air after a rider’s scarf got tangled in a wheel.
Thrill-seekers were moments away from a heart-stopping drop atop the DC Rivals HyperCoaster at Warner Bros Movie World, on Australia’s Gold Coast, when the ride abruptly stopped on Friday.
The problem was only noticed when an eagle-eyed worker spotted the scarf trapped in the wheel.
The operator then remotely stopped the ride as it rose up a lift hill ‘as a precaution’, managers said.
It took around three hours to evacuate the train, as passengers had to be fitted with harnesses and guided one-by-one down a set of emergency stairs which run along the track.
The ride, which is 200ft tall at its highest point, is described as the ‘tallest, longest and fastest in the southern hemisphere’.
Bosses suggested the scarf’s owner should not have been allowed to take it onto the ride in the first place.
A spokesperson for Warner Bros Movie World said: ‘The ride operator and the ride’s safety systems have done what they are trained and designed to do, and all the guests on-board are safe with the ride vehicle stopped in a designated zone.
‘Our team exited the guests down the lift hill which is a process we regularly train for and simply requires the guests to walk down the stairs to the load station. Due to the height of the lift hill, we provided a harness for the guests.’
The ride was closed after the incident but was due to reopen on Saturday.
The spokesperson added: ‘We understand ride stoppages can be frustrating for guests and it is for reasons such as these why loose items are not permitted to be taken on-board rides and attractions and we encourage guests to follow all instructions of our operators.’
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