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Fifteen riders, including children as young as five, were trapped on a theme park rollercoaster after it malfunctioned on Friday night.
Child riders burst into tears as the Wave Twister got stuck and left riders suspended 25 feet in the air for more than three hours at Adventureland in Long Island, New York.
'Due to the complexity of the incident, each rider had to be individually secured and carefully brought to the ground using specialized rescue equipment and aerial apparatus,' according to the East Farmingdale Volunteer Fire Department.
The chaos unfolded on the park's newest attraction, the Wave Twister, which opened to the public in March.
The park had announced the new attraction writing, 'We can’t wait to see what you think of Wave Twister!! Don’t knock it til you try it cause this ride is FUN.'
A sixth grader who was stuck on the ride told CBS News that children on the ride were crying and said: 'I calmed down a couple kids. I was telling them it was okay, they can hold my hand and stuff like that.'
They added that some children continued to cry, but most calmed down over time.
The rollercoaster has two different sections where riders sit in a circle and twist down the tracks opposite one another.
Roller coaster riders were stranded for about three hours after a ride malfunction on Friday night
Multiple agencies, including the fire and police departments, responded to rescue the passengers, who were mostly children
The fire department secured each passenger individually and led them to safety. No injuries were reported
Authorities received reports of a ride malfunction just before 7.30pm and rescued the last passenger at 10.39pm.
The fire department said that all 15 individuals arrived safely back on the ground without injury.
Photos of the rescue showed emergency responders on cranes as they attached the passengers to a suspension cord and led them off the ride.
'Great work by all agencies involved in bringing this challenging operation to a safe and successful conclusion,' the department added.
In addition to East Farmingdale firefighters, Suffolk County Police, Adventureland staff and mutual aid groups responded to assist the stranded passengers.
Suffolk County Police told CBS News that those rescued were a five-year-old child who was accompanied by a parent, 40, and the rest of the riders were between eight and 12 years old.
Adventureland said in a statement that it has a 'proud record of safety' throughout its 60 years in business.
'We understand the concern of the riders and their families who were involved today, and we will be working with our ride consultants to fully assess what happened,' a spokesperson said.
The incident occurred at Adventureland's Wave Twister ride in Farmingdale, New York. The coaster opened to the public in March
The fire department thanked all agencies involved in the 'challenging operation'
One middle schooler told CBS News that children were crying while they waited to be rescued. A spokesperson for Adventureland said they were assessing what went wrong with their ride consultants
'Until further review that ride will not be in service. We appreciate the dedication of the many first responder departments who skillfully assisted in getting our guests off the ride.'
Mark Smith, a strategic relations manager at Adventureland, said there were no updates as of Saturday morning and that the park would not be holding a press conference on the incident.
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