A scene worthy of a disaster movie. In Portland, Oregon, 28 people were stranded on a ride at Oaks amusement park. The visitors were then upside down, perched higher 15 meters high. For 25 long minutes, they were forced not to move, for fear of falling.
Fortunately, no injuries were reported. “The ride has been lowered manually and all passengers are now being evacuated and medically examined,” officials said. Although the reasons for this sudden stoppage of the ride are still unknown, the local authorities preferred to close the park until further notice.
Visitors stuck in the ride testify
In the local media, visitors who experienced this terrible moment testified. “My whole bladder hurts. I was holding back my vomit. My legs hurt,” said Daniel Allen, one of the ride passengers, who called the 25-minute ordeal a
“simply crazy”. “People were praying to God, screaming to death, vomiting, fainting, it was horrible,” Jordan Harding said. Among the visitors were children.
“The merry-go-round went up, the kids got stuck in the merry-go-round and they were swinging. And someone came in and said to me ‘hey, the kids are stuck’ and I looked up, and I said found that they were stuck.
Emergency services were able to save everyone
Local firefighters detailed their method for saving all these frightened visitors. “I know our high rope rescue team specifically trained as recently as last year on this ride and extricating individuals,” said the fire official.
If there is one positive thing to remember is the victims’ admiration for the help. “My dream is to become a firefighter” Allen said. “I’m grateful that they did what they did and it really makes me think about what I want to become and grow up and become that”. More fear than harm for these visitors who will not be riding a ride any time soon.
