Updated: THRILL-SEEKERS were left hanging upside down from their carriage after it got stuck on the world’s steepest rollercoaster at Flamingoland.
The riders were enjoying a white-knuckle ride on the £4 million Mumbo Jumbo at the theme park near Pickering when their cars stalled after a poncho became entangled in the ride’s mechanism.
One onlooker, Nigel Warburton, from Darlington, who captured their dilemma on camera while on a day out at Flamingoland, suggested it was about 20 minutes before they could be rescued from about 50 feet above the ground by staff.
"There was quite a crowd gathered watching," he said Elliot Richards, Park Executive, said today the problem arose at about 5.30 pm yesterday when a single car containing two riders stalled.
“The ride safety system immediately activated stopping a second car, containing three riders, in a safety brake section,” he said.
“As a result of these circumstances, Flamingo Land implemented its Evacuation and Rescue Procedure. All five riders were successfully evacuated without injury in quick succession, due to the speedy response of the Flamingo Land Operations Department.”
He said a preliminary investigation had revealed there were no faults with the ride, and the car stalled due to a freak occurrence involving an item of clothing - a poncho - becoming entangled within the ride’s mechanism.
He added that Mumbo Jumbo opened as planned for thrill seekers as normal today.
The ride, which was launched last July, plunges people down an overhang of 112 degrees from a high point of 30 metres.
Last summer, 20 passengers were trapped on the Kumali roller-coaster at Flamingoland for 45 minutes after there was a power cut during a thunderstorm.
* Were you stuck on the Mumbo Jumbo – or did you see the cars stalling? Contact mike.laycock@thepress.co.uk or call 01904 567132.
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