Horrific scenes unfolded at an indoor amusement park on Saturday when an eight-year-old boy became entangled in a rope ladder and began hanging by his neck.
The incident occurred at the Thrillz High Flying Adventure Park in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, US, and left the child fighting for his life and witnesses traumatised.
Elizabeth O'Reilly, who was at the park with her son and nephew, described the chaotic scenes, saying she heard "a lot of screaming and shouting from the employees."
She continued, "They were screaming at everybody to just evacuate, get out of the building. And it was very confusing."
Ms O'Reilly eventually saw the boy, who was completely entangled in the rope ladder, and people were trying to free him.
Two off-duty police officers and park employees sprang into action, freeing the boy from the rope and performing CPR on him.
"Within 10 seconds, our safety monitors formed a response team along with off-duty police officers and a nurse who was also on-site," said Lisa Cannon, the owner of Thrillz.
"Our staff followed protocol and communicated via our internal radio system to our CPR and First Aid certified team members."
Thankfully, the child regained consciousness and was able to speak with first responders before being rushed to Paoli Hospital.
"We are told by police that the boy is okay and the injury is not serious," Ms Cannon wrote.
"Our thoughts are with the family and we will be contacting them soon."
The incident was ruled accidental, and investigators say the boy was with his family at the time.
Thrillz remained open on Saturday but the rope ladder section where the boy was climbing was closed.
"Our operations team includes a former military officer, who is a certified ride inspector by the Agriculture Department of Pennsylvania, which oversees ride and amusement safety in the state," Ms Cannon wrote.
"The rope ladder complies with ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) standards, which specify a 9-inch gap between knots, however, out of an abundance of caution, we have decided to further enhance the safety of our equipment by ordering a softer and tighter rope ladder. The obstacle will be closed until our installation is complete."
The park owner assured visitors that the safety of the park's guests "is and always has been our number one priority."
However, witnesses like Ms O'Reilly were left shaken by the traumatic event.
She said: "My son and my nephew were really upset. They just wanted to go. I mean, my son was on the verge of tears. A lot of children were crying. A lot of adults were crying."
She added: "I'm just praying for his mother and his family and for him to make a safe recovery.
"Tough little guy."
