Horrifying moment thrill-seekers are stuck upside down for half an hour when Wonderland’s lumberjack ride malfunctions
- The Lumberjack, a swinging axe ride at the Ontario park, left riders suspended
A shocking malfunction on a ride at Ontario’s famed Wonderland theme park left unsuspecting thrill-seekers suspended upside-down in mid-air for more than half an hour.
The Lumberjack, a swinging axe ride located at the thrill-packed amusement haven in Vaughn, Ontario, suddenly ground to a halt in a terrifying blunder at around 10:30pm on Saturday.
A hair-raising video clip captured by parkgoer Jiashira Rivera showed the moment of the error as riders began to panic while dangling dozens of feet in the air.
In a TikTok post that has since gone viral, Rivera disclosed that it took over half an hour for beleaguered riders to finally return to solid ground.
I’m definitely not getting on this ride any time soon!’ she wrote in the video caption.
‘It was terrifying, thank God nobody fell off,’ Rivera later told Yahoo Canada via direct message.
‘They kept telling everyone to clear up the area. Workers came in with safety harnesses, climbed up to the machine and tried resetting it.’
The Lumberjack, a swinging axe ride located at the thrill-packed amusement haven in Vaughn, Ontario, suddenly ground to a halt in a terrifying blunder at around 10:30pm on Saturday night
A hair-raising video clip captured by parkgoer Jiashira Rivera showed the moment of the error as riders began to panic while dangling dozens of feet in the air
The swinging axe ride is a popular attraction at the Ontario theme park
Meanwhile, one 14-year-old passenger rescued from the ordeal explained how hanging upside down for such a length of time began to cause severe discomfort.
‘Me and my friends all felt the same effects and I’m pretty sure it’s the same for everyone… I had so much blood going to my head,’ he said, adding that if felt as though he couldn’t breathe properly and that his eyes felt heavy due to blood pooling in his head.
‘I was thankful that the workers there could get us down but it was just crazy,’ he shared. ‘I wonder how much longer if we were up there [if] we could’ve died.’
A TikTok user who also experienced the terrifying ride shared their pain with a simple comment: ‘It hurt so bad.’
With a tinge of dark humor, one commenter invoked the chilling aura of the ‘Final Destination’ movie franchise.
‘Final Destination vibe, hopefully everyone is okay,’ they wrote.
Canada’s Wonderland’s director of communications Grace Peacock recounted the event and explained that maintenance and rescue crews were deployed to fix the issue and safely evacuate the ride.
‘The park’s maintenance team responded quickly and the ride was brought down by 11:05pm,’ Peacock said in an email to Yahoo Canada.
‘Guests were unloaded safely.’
Peacock went on to disclose that, before rejoining the park’s festivities, all riders underwent a thorough examination by the park’s first aid personnel after two riders reported experiencing chest discomfort.
Fortunately, all riders were eventually cleared by medical staff and required no further treatment.
The shocking event unfolded just weeks after a fairground ride in Belgium malfunctioned and violently threw riders out of their seats, leaving three with serious injuries.
The spinning ride at the Ducasse fair in the village of La Hestre, a suburb of Manage in southwest Belgium, was seen launching its seven riders out of their seats with onlookers heard screaming in shock and panic.
Smoke and steam was seen pouring out of the ride moments before seven people were thrown off
The fairground will be allowed to stay open as the investigation into the tragedy unfolds
All seven people on the ride, who were conscious when emergency services treated them at the scene, suffered injuries following the incident
Bruno Pozzoni, the mayor of Manage, said hours after the incident in August that all seven people suffered injuries.
Belgian news programme RTL Info reported that the youngest victim, a 10-year-old girl, was rushed to hospital in a serious but stable condition after suffering multiple complex injuries.
‘She is out of danger. It’s polytrauma, she is still being followed, but she is out of danger,’ the mayor told the programme.
‘One person remains in a worrying state, it is a young girl hospitalized in Tivoli for whom there is a follow-up. Three of the victims have been operated on and are in the orthopedic service.
‘One is released and one person is in psychological distress and is supported by psychologists to try to reduce his trauma,’ he added.
The mayor said that the investigation into the incident is still ongoing, and added that the fairground will be allowed to stay open as the investigation unfolds.
‘The question arose in depth, and we felt, in discussions with several specialists, that people should continue to talk about it, not shut themselves up at home and stay on the event.
‘That also allows us to to meet them and direct them to our listening cell since many witnesses were present. A part was taken care of, but in the drama that unfolded, many moved away from the place and today, we tries to recover all these witnesses who have suffered psychological trauma,’ Bruno added.
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