15 children, 1 adult rescued after ride gets stuck at Adventureland amusement park on Long Island
Fifteen children and one adult were rescued Friday evening after they got stuck on a ride at Long Island's Adventureland amusement park.
Emergency services received a call reporting the Wave Twister thrill ride had broken down with riders on board just before 7:30 p.m., Suffolk County Police said. Multiple fire departments and Emergency Services Unit officers responded to the scene.
According to officials, the ride was about 25 feet high off the ground when it got stuck.
It took crews about three hours to get all of the passengers off the ride. CBS News New York's Chopper 2 flew over the ride just before 10:40 p.m. as firefighters rescued the last person.
The youngest passenger on the ride was a 5-year-old child, who was accompanied by a 40-year-old parent, Suffolk County Police said. The rest of the passengers were 8-12 years old, police said.
There have not been reports of any injuries at this time.
An Adventureland park spokesman said in a statement:
"For more than 60 years, Adventureland has enjoyed a proud record of safety and guest satisfaction. 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. 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."
A sixth grader who was trapped on the ride told CBS News New York's Adi Guajardo she initially panicked, but then her instincts kicked in and she started to help those around her.
"I knew the situation. I calmed down a couple kids. I was telling them it was OK, they can hold my hand and stuff like that," she said. "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 OK finally. It calmed down a little bit, but there were still kids crying."
Earlier in the evening, the children who were stuck on the ride did not appear to be in distress when Chopper 2 flew over the scene. Several waved at our camera and seemed to be in good spirits.
The Wave Twister is the park's newest ride and just opened in March. It's unknown what caused the ride to break down.
Emergency officials said more information will be released at a press conference Saturday.
