Riders were stranded atop the Iron Shark roller coaster in Galveston. The group of students was stuck for about four hours.
GALVESTON, Texas — There’s a developing story in Galveston as riders were stuck on a roller coaster at Pleasure Pier. The group, reportedly students from Houston, was not injured, but they were shaken up from the incident.
A live look from a KHOU 11 camera showed the Iron Shark roller coaster stuck near the top of the ride. A Galveston Fire Department ladder stretched toward the top to help the riders.
According to people at the pier, there were eight Houston STEM students on the coaster when it got stuck. They were on a senior trip, some of the other students said.
It came to a halt at about 5:30 p.m. By 9 p.m., everyone was down from the ride.
According to the Pleasure Pier website, the ride includes a 100-foot vertical lift and a beyond-vertical drop. It reaches speeds of 52 miles per hour, and riders have to be 42 inches tall to get on.
The Galveston Fire Department was at the scene to help get the riders down. The process involved each person being put in a harness and bringing them down one by one. The tower truck reached a maximum 105-feet in the air.
Terry Turney, Chief Operating Officer of Pleasure Pier, says the ride stopped as a result of a malfunction.
“The ride experienced a malfunction at its initial ascent, however, as designed, it immediately stopped to keep everyone safe,” Turney said in an emailed statement. “Our focus immediately shifted to the safety of our guests. Therefore, we contacted the Fire Department to assist, ensuring all guests were safely removed from the ride. A thorough inspection of the ride will take place before it is placed back in service.”
Pleasure Pier was evacuated due to the rescue operation.
The fire chief Mike Varela heaped praise on the crews for pulling off the rescue successfully. He said they trained for this kind of high-risk, low frequency events.
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