Roller coaster, stuck upside down?!?! (news)

[Passionfruition]

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/...n2908687.shtml

Roller Coaster Riders Left Hanging
Power Outage Strands 12 Upside Down On The X-Coaster At Magic Springs

HOT SPRINGS, Ark., June 10, 2007

X-Coaster, stranded riders, Magic Springs, June 10, 2007An amusement park visitor took this picture of the X-Coaster at Magic Springs when the ride froze, leaving 12 riders hanging upside down. (CBS)

(AP) A dozen riders on an Arkansas roller coaster spent half an hour hanging upside down ? 150 feet above the ground ? after a power outage shut down the attraction.

It took about 30 minutes for the city Fire Department to rescue the riders using a ladder truck Saturday evening, said Aundrea Crary, spokeswoman for the Springs & Crystal Falls amusement park.

Spectators cheered when the riders were brought to the ground from the highest point of a loop on the X-Coaster, but one passenger threw up after reaching safety.

The X-Coaster was one of several rides brought to a halt by the outage that originated somewhere near the park.

"You could tell who got off the (X-Coaster) because their faces were red," said Angela Salter. She was riding the Gauntlet, another coaster, and said park employees worked quickly to free her.

The park resumed normal operations, although the X-Coaster remained closed.

One X-Coaster passenger, Jay Plummer, 37, was taken to St. Joseph Mercy Medical Center in Hot Springs after complaining of neck pain and a headache.

"It was very scary," said his girlfriend, Connie McBride. "I love the amusement park, but I will never get on the X-Coaster again."

The park has experienced outages before, but usually they last only seconds, said Dan Aylward, Magic Springs president and general manager.

Entergy Corp. was investigating but crews found no faulty wiring.

"The cause could be a (tree) limb or as simple as an animal (on the lines)," said Mark Hunt, general manager of customer service for Entergy. "We could find no faults, but we are going to continue to investigate until we find the cause."

copyright MMVII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

[Lindsey]

Oh wow I would be freaking out if I was stuck like that!

[Tink]

Oh man!
Just one of many reasons I dont go to amusment parks!
I'd have been so sick hanging upside down that long!

[DianaB]

Those poor people!! I can't imagine how relieved they were when rescue finally arrived!!! I don't like rollercoasters!!!!

[Mandy]

When i was a kid i used to love rollercoaters, now i cant stand them! I would definatly freak out if it got stuck

[judy]

What a fantastic picture! That must have been so awful for those poor people, but I do love roller coasters.

When I was a teenager, Coney Island was at the end of the train line we took to high school. As soon as it got warm enough, there were many days when we just kept on riding that train to Coney Island to go on the all time best roller coaster in the world (then) - the Cyclone. We'd ride it over and over again, standing up, in the first car, last car, you name it. It was so much fun! I have to be honest - I have no regrets for the "wild" kid I was. I have some great memories.