Terror for dozens of thrillseekers as rollercoaster breaks down to leave them stranded 150ft above the ground for more than an hour
- Dozens of thrillseekers had to be evacuated from Millennium rollercoaster
- The ride, at Fantasty Island, in Ingoldmells, Lincs, broke down due to a fault
- Staff at the popular park had to use harnesses to get the guests down after they had been stranded for more than an hour which left some youngsters in tears
Dozens of thrill seekers were stranded 150ft in the air for more than an hour after a rollercoaster broke down at a popular seaside attraction.
The Millennium rollercoaster ground to a halt at Fantasy Island in Ingoldmells, Lincs on Sunday afternoon.
Staff tried to fix the issue for more than an hour, but people on the ride eventually had to be escorted down in harnesses at around 6pm.
Dozens of thrillseekers were left stranded for more than an hour when a fault brought the Millennium rollercoaster to a halt at Fantasy Island in Ingoldmells, Lincolnshire
One person who was on the ride says the incident terrified younger visitors who were on the rollercoaster, while some people were left in tears, Lincolnshire Live reports.
Carly Tarry, from Boston, was on the ride with her daughter, niece and nephew, when it came to a halt.
She said: ‘It set off before it came to a sudden stop near the top. It lurched forward a little bit more but then stopped again.
‘We then waited and they said we would have to evacuate. They started to bring harnesses up and released the locks so we could put them on in the seats.
‘We had to clamber out in the most horrible way – you don’t realise how high up you’ve gone. It was pretty scary.’
Carly says her daughter, Emily Myers, dealt with the ordeal ‘amazingly’, although some people were left very upset about what had happened.
‘My nephew was screaming and was so scared so they took him down first, before coming back for my niece,’ the 34-year-old said.
‘We could hear people crying ahead of us, so my daughter told them to take them down first – I’m so proud of her.’
A spokesperson for Fantasy Island said the ride broke down after a fault set off safety systems designed to keep passengers safe.
She said: ‘We can confirm there was an event yesterday afternoon at Fantasy Island involving the Millennium rollercoaster.
‘A fault within the rollercoaster drive triggered one of the multiple layers of safety systems causing the train to stop and lock.
‘There were a number of passengers on the attraction who were safely evacuated.
‘Our employees responded immediately and were reassuring customers face to face within 5 minutes of the occurrence.
‘The well-being of our guests is priority and therefore an evacuation was carried out prior to further investigation.
Park operators say staff responded to the incident immediately and were reassuring customers face-to-face within five minutes of the rollercoaster breaking down yesterday
‘The ride has now been recovered and is back in its station.
‘We can confirm that our ride maintenance team have completed a full ride inspection and the ride has passed all of its functional tests at the time of testing.
‘Millions of guests have safely ridden the Millennium rollercoaster since it opened in 1999.’
The Millennium rollercoaster reportedly cost £15 million to construct and officially opened in May 1999.
It was Fantasy Island’s first extreme thrill ride and has a top speed of 55.9mph, making it the UK’s seventh fastest rollercoaster.
It is also the fourth tallest British rollercoaster, with a maximum height of 150ft.