Holiday-makers freed from Movie World ride
Movie World: one of the parks to gain a safety tick. Photo: AAP
More than a dozen people have been rescued from a rollercoaster at Movie World on Queensland’s Gold Coast, after one of the ride’s wheels dislodged.
Firefighters arrived at the theme park in Oxenford about 1:10pm to investigate an issue with the Green Lantern Coaster where 13 people were stuck.
Six people taken off the ride have been transported to Gold Coast University Hospital in a stable condition.
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Engineers were called in to release the ride.
The ride, which measures 33 metres at its highest point, came to a sudden stop as emergency announcements began to play in front of confused onlookers
Witness Caleb Rehua said he immediately noticed something unusual about the ride.
“When we got off all we heard was two big bolt things just fall down and then everyone went crazy,” he said.
“It was like a real movie. We all had to get off … the carriage was falling and then they stopped the ride straight away.”
A spokesman for Movie World said an issue with a wheel occurred about 12:50pm.
“Warner Brothers Movie World and Queensland Fire have trained for this type of evacuation,” the spokesman said.
“The rescue team immediately assessed the situation and they have begun the evacuation efforts. No injuries have occurred. Evacuation efforts are ongoing.
“The safety and wellbeing of our guests is our top priority.
“Following the evacuation efforts our team of engineers and technicians to will investigate the cause of this mechanical issue before the ride is reopened.”
According to the Movie World website, the coaster features the “steepest drop in the southern hemisphere”, is 33 metres tall and can reach a top speed of 66kph.
It was opened in December 2011.
I hope everyone is down and safe at #movieworld #goldcoast. Very frightening! pic.twitter.com/5Jfv6NzeMv
— Mother Natured (@mothernatured) March 15, 2015
@BreaKBeatJunkee UPDATE: Crews are rushing to free remaining 4 on @movieworldaus ride. http://t.co/S6ulkkUGSK #9News pic.twitter.com/9UnxQQUQCv
— LIVEEDGES (@LiveEdges) March 15, 2015
Not sure if I’ll be going to Movieworld if I head up to the GC this weekend!
— Lauren (@lozzMC92) March 15, 2015