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Holiday-makers freed from Movie World ride

Movie World: one of the parks to gain a safety tick.

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.

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