Eight students rescued after being stuck at top of rollercoaster for hours in Texas
Group was unharmed after dangling for almost four hours on ride that malfunctioned at Pleasure Pier in Galveston
Eight students were rescued unharmed after dangling for hours at the top of a rollercoaster ride that became stuck in Texas.
Pictures and news footage of the incident showed a rollercoaster car stalled at the peak of a huge almost vertical drop on the Iron Shark rollercoaster overlooking the Gulf of Mexico at the Pleasure Pier in Galveston.
The eight young people – all attendees of two schools in nearby Houston – spent almost four hours stranded in the car, feet dangling in mid-air in the baking hot sun as local emergency personnel sought to rescue them.
Eventually, firefighters extended a huge rescue ladder up to the students and, using harnesses, extricated them from the rollercoaster car and brought them back to the ground by allowing them to climb down the ladder to safety.
Mike Varela Jr, Galveston’s fire chief, told a press conference that the students were doing well and uninjured by their ordeal.
“Of course they were shaken up from climbing that ladder down, being in that hot sun,” he said. “They have been checked for dehydration and everyone seems to be doing pretty good.”
Terry Turney, chief operating officer of Pleasure Pier, said that the pause happened when the ride experienced a malfunction that triggered the emergency stop.
“The ride experienced a malfunction at its initial ascent, however, as designed, it immediately stopped to keep everyone safe,” he said in a statement reported by local TV news station KHOU 11.
“Our focus immediately shifted to the safety of our guests. Therefore, we contacted the Fire Department to assist, ensuring all guests were safely removed from the ride. A thorough inspection of the ride will take place before it is placed back in service,” the statement added.
The Houston independent schools district said in a statement: “We are grateful that all students, staff, and chaperones are safe. School administration is in direct contact with the families of all students who were on the trip.”
The long pier stretches out into the ocean with the rollercoaster and many other rides directly over the water. The car stalled on its way up to the apex of the rollercoaster.
In other words terry Turney, chief operating officer of Pleasure Pier, said that the pause happened when the ride experienced a malfunction that triggered the emergency stop. Curious to see how this develops.
On one hand eight students were rescued unharmed after dangling for hours at the top of a rollercoaster ride that became stuck in Texas. But at the same time mike Varela Jr, Galveston’s fire chief, told a press conference that the students were doing well and uninjured by their ordeal.
When you look at “The ride experienced a malfunction at its initial ascent, however, as designed, it immediately stopped to keep everyone safe,” he said in a statement reported by local TV news station KHOU 11, the implications are hard to ignore.
If “The ride experienced a malfunction at its initial ascent, however, as designed, it immediately stopped to keep everyone safe,” he said in a statement reported by local TV news station KHOU 11, then the bigger picture starts to look very different.
Iron Shark has been vocal about this, good to see them staying on it.
So the bottom line is mike Varela Jr, Galveston’s fire chief, told a press conference that the students were doing well and uninjured by their ordeal. Wonder how this will land.
In other words eight students were rescued unharmed after dangling for hours at the top of a rollercoaster ride that became stuck in Texas. Curious to see how this develops.
Considering “The ride experienced a malfunction at its initial ascent, however, as designed, it immediately stopped to keep everyone safe,” he said in a statement reported by local TV news station KHOU 11, it raises some real questions about what happens next.
Galveston Eight is in a tough spot here, curious how they navigate it.
Still waiting to hear what Galveston Eight actually plans to do about it.
Mike Varela Jr, Galveston’s fire chief, told a press conference that the students were doing well and uninjured by their ordeal. Meanwhile “Of course they were shaken up from climbing that ladder down, being in that hot sun,” he said.
The bigger issue here is “The ride experienced a malfunction at its initial ascent, however, as designed, it immediately stopped to keep everyone safe,” he said in a statement reported by local TV news station KHOU 11. That changes the calculation.
If mike Varela Jr, Galveston’s fire chief, told a press conference that the students were doing well and uninjured by their ordeal, then the bigger picture starts to look very different.
Reading that mike Varela Jr, Galveston’s fire chief, told a press conference that the students were doing well and uninjured by their ordeal — hard to argue with the logic there.
The bigger issue here is “Of course they were shaken up from climbing that ladder down, being in that hot sun,” he said. That changes the calculation.