Children were screaming after getting stuck on a rollercoaster suspended 20ft in the air, an eyewitness said.
The Rocket Coaster stopped on the tracks at Southport Pleasureland on Saturday, leaving 19 people trapped on the ride. Michael Bowman, 57, was one of many parents who had taken their children to the theme park for the Bank Holiday when he witnessed a girl being "carried off the ride unconscious."
Michael said parents were clinging on to their children as they waited to be rescued from the ride with a cherry picker, the Mirror Online reports. It is believed to have taken around 90 minutes to safety remove everyone from the rollercoaster, while one child was taken to Alder Hey Children's Hospital.
A park spokesperson said today that no-one was at any risk of falling from the ride, and that the carriages were "secure on the track", with senior management and maintenance team workers conducting a "thorough investigation" into the incident.
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Michael said: "We walked towards The Rocket and I thought 'something's not right there'. All of a sudden a cherry picker came past us and all staff were guiding people out the way.
"We looked up and said 'Oh my God, it's stuck all the way round'. You could see that it was on an angle and they were all leaning."
He added: "We know that a young girl had passed out and the father was trying to climb over the barrier out of the ride to get to his daughter. You could see the worry in the father's face.
"The ambulance was on its way at that point. They must have been up there a good hour and a half."
Michael claimed they were stranded at least 20ft in the air. Maintenance teams for Pleasureland rushed to the scene and began rescuing the 19 people trapped on the 22-person capacity ride with a cherry picker.
Paramedics and fire crews were also called to the scene on Marine Drive in Southport at around 12pm on Saturday. A child sustained a head injury as a result of the ride's sudden stoppage and was taken to Alder Hey Children's Hospital for treatment.
A spokesperson for North West Ambulance Service told the ECHO the child, who was unconscious but breathing, was treated at the scene before being taken to hospital.
Among the rescued passengers, 17 were given precautionary checks by paramedics. Merseyside Fire and Rescue said the ride was to be isolated while a full inspection was carried out, which Pleasureland said it was still conducting today (Sunday).
A spokesperson for Pleasureland said: "We are sorry for the distress caused to passengers on one of our coasters yesterday. Our immediate priority was looking after everyone’s safe removal from the ride.
"Senior management and maintenance team members are today continuing a thorough investigation into carriages stopping on the park’s Rocket Coaster yesterday morning.
"All routine maintenance checks had been carried out, as they are on all rides each morning, before the ride went into commission.
"The ride did exactly what its safety settings are programmed to do and stopped on detecting a fault.
"It was the first run of the day and the ride, which has a 22-person capacity, was loaded with 19 riders.
“No one was at any risk of falling from the ride, the carriages were secure on the track and the park’s operations director immediately made his way up the gantry to speak to riders and explain that they would be brought off the ride safely, as part of the park’s instant response safety process.
"At the same time, the maintenance crew was further immobilising carriages to ensure passengers’ safe exit from the ride via one of the park’s cherry pickers.
"A young girl who had lost consciousness was the team’s priority, and immediately checked by ambulance paramedics.
"That first-response healthcare team was available to other passengers.
"On seeing how the park was handling the situation and safely retrieving passengers, the fire brigade commended the team, took no action and left the scene.
“As a consequence of calling maintenance staff to attend the coaster, one or two of the other rides were off for a very short while during the day.
"This is because the systems require reset buttons to be pressed – something that is maintenance’s responsibility. This represented a very short disruption."
They added: “Our priority is always safety and our team checks and maintains rides, and trains to keep emergency procedures front of mind, should they be needed, so they are delivered fast and effectively. Once again we apologise to our passengers.”
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