Officials in Florida rescued two theme park visitors after a slingshot ride broke down, leaving them suspended over 30-40 feet in the air for nearly two hours on Thursday.
In Florida, according to officials, all slingshot rides were closed after a cable failure in Kissimmee, Fla.
Thankfully, no one was reportedly injured in the incident.
The ride is owned and administered by Old Town Slingshot and is part of the Old Town theme park in Kissimmee, Fla.
The incident photos show rescue cranes being lifted to the ride’s carriage, hanging between 30-40 feet off the ground.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) stated to NBC News that the rides were shut as a precaution so the manufacturer can conduct an inquiry. The other attractions are located in Orlando, Daytona Beach, and Panama City Beach.
Officials said that the last inspection conducted of the ride in Kissimmee by the department was on March 19, and no problems were identified. The company says it organizes daily inspections of its rides as well.
However, the Park management described that a cable failed on the ride while a redundant safety cable remained unbroken.
According to local investigators, however, the ride has a safety feature that won’t allow it to be lowered if that cable is not functioning.
All four Slingshot rides would remain closed until the authority’s consultation
The Osceola County Fire Rescue and EMS posted about the rescue operation on its Facebook page, where it confirmed that it worked with the City of Kissimmee Fire Department to rescue the two teenagers.
City of Kissimmee Fire Department Tower 11 and Osceola Tower 72 worked together tonight to perform a successful high-angle rescue of two teens who became stuck, suspended 30-40 feet in the air on a malfunctioning ride at Old Town, along West U.S. 192 in Kissimmee.
John Stine, marketing and sales director for Old Town Slingshot, told Click Orlando that the ride is designed with redundancy, so if something like this happens, it is very unusual, to begin with. But if it does, then they have a backup arrangement, and everything went fine. The only unfortunate condition is they were suspended on the ride for two hours.
Officials said that all four rides would remain closed until the authority’s consultation with the manufacturer and the state agriculture agency conducts its subsequent inspection.
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