A glitch on a roller coaster at a major theme park in Japan has left passengers stranded 30-odd metres in the air for as long as two hours while rescuers attended the scene.
The Flying Dragon ride at Universal Studios Japan in Osaka stalled halfway through the ride’s 1,100-metre span, with two carriages making an emergency stop near the apex of the ride.
The ride was at capacity, carrying 64 passengers at the time; the park itself is experiencing high volumes of patrons due to Japan’s currently on-going Golden Week holiday period.
How’s this for terrifying: a roller coaster at Universal Studios Japan came to an emergency stop – leaving people dangling upside down from 100 feet up. They are being evacuated (click for video) https://t.co/wjlQjfD5Qx pic.twitter.com/alcpwBxJgi
— Anna Fifield (@annafifield) May 1, 2018
大阪にある #USJ で走行中のジェットコースターが急停止し、一時客が取り残されました。
現場の様子を写真特集で→https://t.co/FFEMMJ58TM pic.twitter.com/O0l2VJmyD6— 毎日新聞写真部 (@mainichiphoto) May 1, 2018
妹から電話あってUSJでフライングダイナソーにスタンバイしてたら緊急停止したとかなんとか。みんな命綱付けて降りてるらしいです(妹の順番、緊急停止したコースターの次の次やったらしいです) pic.twitter.com/pATgT3pcS1
— あの佐々岡＠毎日筋トレ (@anosasaoka) May 1, 2018
Park officials confirmed that safety and rescue crews were quickly on the scene, successfully evacuating all passengers from the ride. The last passenger to be removed was forced to wait two hours before coming down from the ride.
Officials asserted that the emergency stop mechanism was triggered by a malfunctioning motor-regulating device on the ride’s rails.
Maintenance workers and inspectors carried out repair works and safety checks, before the ride was given the all clear to resume regular operation.
No one was hurt in the incident.
