While some thrill-seekers relish the sensation of riding an inverted rollercoaster, few, if any, would find joy in being trapped upside down for nearly four hours due to a mechanical malfunction. This was the distressing experience that eight people faced on the Fireball rollercoaster at the Forest County Festival in Crandon, Wisconsin when the ride came to an abrupt halt at the highest point of its vertical loop.
As reported by NPR:
Videos posted to social media show carnival workers grinding on metal, desperately trying to unstick the coaster as firemen on ladders talked calmly to the suspended passengers.
Scott Brass, a carnival-goer who watched the rescues unfold, told NPR in a social media message that five of the passengers appeared to be children.
One of them, a girl, told the rescuers to unstrap an older man first because he was visibly struggling and appeared to have passed out at one point, Brass recounted.
"That little girl deserves a medal of courage for sure," Brass said.
Once on the ground, the passengers were offered treatment by teams from a total of nine ambulances. One patient was transported to a nearby hospital, the fire department said.
