Dozens of passengers at a Portland, Oregon amusement park were trapped upside down on a popular thrill ride for 30 minutes on Friday, but passengers said it felt like hours.
The Atmosphere ride at Oak Park broke down around 2.55pm, leaving 28 passengers stranded with their feet in the air. Reported by KGW8.
The park initiated emergency procedures and called 911. The ride was manually lowered around 3:25 a.m. and all passengers were safely evacuated, according to Portland Fire Rescue.
Oak Park said one person with underlying medical conditions was taken to a nearby hospital “as a precaution.”
Portland teenagers Danielle Allen and Jordan Harding were at the park celebrating their high school graduation, and as soon as they arrived, they lined up to ride AtmosFEAR.
When they came to, they were hanging upside down.
“I was looking forward to climbing it,” Allen told KGW 8. “I guess if I get stuck up there, I’m not going to be as excited about it anymore.”
Opening in 2021, AtmosFEAR consists of a pendulum that swings from side to side. It stops upside down as a normal part of the ride, but only for a split second, then swings back up.
They realized something was wrong when the ride didn’t resume after its inverted pause.
“We were just panicking,” Harding said. “People were crying. They were just telling the universe what they wanted to say as their final words.”
The couple said being stuck in an upside-down position was extremely uncomfortable and left Harding’s legs numb from the waist down.
She said she wasn’t particularly religious, but had begun to pray.
“I never thought I’d be alive to see this moment,” she told the outlet.
Oak Park said AtmosFEAR will remain closed until further notice.
“Guests whose plans for a visit were cut short today will be offered a refund or the opportunity to reschedule their visit,” Oaks Park said in a statement.
