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15th June 2024
02:56pm BST
Passengers on a theme park ride at Oaks Amusement Park in Portland, Oregon were forced to live through their worst nightmare when the AtmosFEAR ride broke down midway through it's cycle and left them suspended upside down.
Twenty eight people were left stuck 100ft above the ground until firefighters arrived 25 minutes later and were able to return the ride to it's 'unloading position'.
@chrisxryan The ride got stuck and everyone is suspeneded upside down. This is terrfying. They just to close the park #scaryride #oakspark ♬ original sound - Chris Ryan
A passer-by, who goes by the username @chrisxryan on TikTok, posted a video of the incident, along with the caption: "The ride got stuck and everyone is suspended upside down. This is terrifying. They just closed the park."
According to Sky News, one person with a pre-existing medical condition was taken to hospital as a precaution, but incredibly, nobody else was injured.
Hours later, Ryan posted an update, saying: "Update, park was completly shut down and evacuated.
"They were stuck upside down for roughly 30 minutes," he continued. "The ride finally started working but they still had to go side to side before it finally stopped. Hoping everyone is okay."
@chrisxryan Replying to @Vanessa Clark 💍💜 ♬ original sound - Chris Ryan
He provided a third update an hour later when he had returned home from the park, speaking to camera and describing the incident in detail.
The park had to be evacuated," he said. "As we were in line trying to leave, we heard screams and we noticed that the ride had come back on and they had to go side to side before they could even get back off.
"I couldn't imagine how terrifying that would have been for the people who were stuck up there."
Portland Fire and Rescue said on X that firefighters worked with engineers at Oaks Park to manually lower the ride, but that crews had been preparing to conduct a high-angle ropes rescue if necessary.
Portland Fire is en route to Oaks Park for a ride that is stuck, with multiple riders. At this point there are no indications of injury. There is a PIO en route and we will update information until they arrive on, as needed.
— Portland Fire & Rescue (@PDXFire) June 14, 2024
The ride has been in operation since 2021 and has not had any prior incidents, the park said. It will remain closed until further notice.
A similar incident occurred last month at Canada’s Wonderland theme park in Vaughan, Ontario.
A viral video showed passengers on the Lumberjack ride dangling upside down for 45 mins.
Again, a passer-by managed to capture the harrowing incident.
@jiashira_ After about 45 mins they were able to get everyone down safety 🫠😮💨 I’m definitely not getting on this ride any time soon! #canadaswonderland #canada #toronto #amusementpark #ridegetsstuck #scary #wtf #viral #fyp ♬ original sound - Shira 🦂
One passenger on the ride described how many of those on the ride started crying in fear, and that their tears streamed back into their eyes because of the ride’s positioning.
Spencer Parkhouse, 11, said he at first thought the ride grinding to a halt was part of the experience.
But when they looked down below to see ambulances pulling up dozens of feet below them, they knew something was wrong.
“[I was] just like feeling — when are we going to drop down? Are we ever going to drop down?” he told CBC News.
He added: “[I was] just like feeling – when are we going to drop down? Are we ever going to drop down?”
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