“A couple kids were crying. I was trying to calm them down. It was scary at first,” recalled a middle school student who was on the ride
Credit: CBS New York
NEED TO KNOW
- Fifteen children and one adult were rescued hours after they got stuck on the new Wave Twister ride at Long Island’s Adventureland theme park in New York
- The thrill ride simulates the experience of riding on a wave using a boomerang-style layout and two spinning gondolas
- “A couple kids were crying. I was trying to calm them down. It was scary at first,” recalled a child who was on the ride
More than a dozen people were rescued after they got stuck on the Wave Twister ride at Long Island's Adventureland theme park in New York.
On Friday, June 19, multiple fire departments and Emergency Services Unit officers responded to a 911 call reporting that the Wave Twister had broken down around 25 feet above the ground with riders on board, just before 7:30 p.m., the Suffolk County Police told CBS News, ABC7 Eyewitness News and News 12.
While it took around three hours, crews were able to safely get everyone off the ride with no reports of injuries.
Police told CBS News that the youngest passenger on the ride was 5 years old and that they were accompanied by a 40-year-old parent. The remaining 14 children were between 8 and 12 years old.
The Wave Twister, a custom-built thrill ride that opened in March, simulates the experience of riding on a wave using a boomerang-style layout and two spinning gondolas that carry 10 passengers each.
While it is unknown what caused the ride to stop, it will remain closed as the theme park investigates the cause of the incident.
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"For more than 60 years, Adventureland has enjoyed a proud record of safety and guest satisfaction,” the theme park said in a statement shared with PEOPLE.
“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,” the statement continued.
Credit: Google
“Until further review that ride will not be in service,” the statement concluded. “We appreciate the dedication of the many first responder departments who skillfully assisted in getting our guests off the ride.”
While some parents told Eyewitness News that they were communicating with their kids via Apple Watches as they waited to be rescued, a middle school student who was trapped on the ride told CBS News that they helped calm down a couple of kids during the terrifying incident.
“I was telling them it was okay, they can hold my hand and stuff like that," the sixth grader recalled. "A couple kids were crying. I was trying to calm them down. It was scary at first. Later in the day, it was kind of okay finally. It calmed down a little bit, but there were still kids crying."
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