Thrill-seekers flock to amusement parks for the exhilaration of roller coasters, the rush of adrenaline, and the sheer excitement of defying gravity. However, the euphoria turned into anxiety for a group of roller coaster riders who found themselves suspended upside down for nearly four hours.
The incident occurred at Wisconsin’s Forest County festival on the popular ride called the Fireball. How this ride is supposed to work is riders are strapped in and go upside down in a circle repeatedly. Due to a mechanical malfunction, these riders started to go up and around, but they never came back down.
Many of the passengers were kids! I can only imagine the fear their parents had watching their children stuck upside down. Someone at the festival took a video giving viewers a play-by-play of what was happening. “There’s an old guy in the first one. Hopefully, he’s doing OK. This is just scary. They’ve been up there for an hour.”
It took responders two hours to start getting people off the ride. The reason it took responders so long is because they had to wait for a firetruck that had a ladder that could reach over 100 feet in the air. There was one little girl who stood out among the rest and was praised for her bravery.
During the video from the festival-goer, he stated, “They went out by the one very brave little girl up in the top there, asked her if she wanted to come out. She must’ve said, “Go take care of that old man first. Make sure he’s OK.” Once the rescue started, many of the onlookers started to cheer with happiness for the passengers.
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The last rider was finally brought down four hours after the incident first occurred. Only one passenger was taken to the hospital after being rescued. There is an ongoing investigation, but the operator of the ride told the first responders that the ride had recently been inspected by state authorities.
This is proof of the importance of safety measures and routine maintenance. While thrill rides are designed to provide exhilaration, riders’ well-being must remain the top priority.
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