This is the harrowing moment thrill-seekers were left stranded at the top of a rollercoaster, approximately 328ft up in the air, in the midst of a storm. The dozens of roller coaster goers were left dangling in the air for around half an hour at Harbin Sunac Land amusement park, yesterday afternoon, May 31.
Strong winds and torrential rain plunged parts of Harbin in China into a near total blackout and triggered a sudden power failure. As a storm knocked out power to the park, the roller coaster suddenly stopped near the peak of its almost vertical climb. Harrowing footage shared on social media captured the moment bystanders reacted in shock, with one claiming that the “violent storm and rain cut the power and left the rollercoaster hanging upside down”.
Residents likened the scene to an apocalyptic film, with near-zero visibility and car alarms blaring in the streets.
Park management activated its emergency response plan and safely evacuated all passengers, directing them to walk along the tracks to ground level.
Authorities confirmed that no serious injuries were reported. The amusement park confirmed that strong winds caused the power outage and stated that it would close for the remainder of the day.
An investigation is now underway to examine why safety systems failed to immediately supply backup electricity to return the ride to the loading platform.
This incident comes just days after eight students were left dangling for hours at the top of a rollercoaster ride that became stuck in Galveston, Texas.
Rescue teams rushed to the scene on May to rescue the students who were stuck 30.4 meters in the air, 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.
Photographs from Pleasure Pier’s Iron Shark roller coaster showed rescue workers climbing a ladder to reach the stricken carriage, with eight passengers visibly trapped on the ride.
The Iron Shark is the tallest coaster on the pier, boasting a 100-foot vertical lift hill.
Using a ladder truck and safety harnesses, the Galveston Fire Department evacuated the stranded passengers one at a time over the course of about three and half hours.
The students were from Houston Independent School District who were participating in a field trip organised by Energised for STEM Academy Middle School and Energised for STEM Academy High School, two HISD in-district charter schools.
