A total of 22 people were forced to spend two hours suspended six stories in the air after a ride at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, Calif. broke down.
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According to ABC7, the incident occurred on Monday, Nov. 18, on Knott’s Berry Farm’s Sol Spin. The ride was reportedly stuck in a horizontal position, with some riders seen leaning sideways. None of the riders appeared to be suspended upside down.
20 passengers were stuck on the Sol Spin ride at Knotts Berry Farm in Buena Park, CA, for roughly 1 hour.
— Next Paradigm Shift (@NXTPDSIO) November 19, 2024
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The thrill ride takes guests over six stories high as they rotate in all directions on six spinning arms. Each of the arms rotates 360 degrees independently from each other. “Riders on the freely rotating, floorless gondolas gain a real sense of being airborne while suspended and flipping above the ground,” the theme park states on its website.
ABC7 further reported that after two hours, park maintenance was able to finally get the ride down to the ground and let riders off. Although there were no serious injuries, some of the riders were seen taken in wheelchairs or visibly limping from the ride.
Two female riders were also transported to a nearby hospital for further evaluation. This was “out of an abundance of caution.”
Knott’s Berry Farm further released a statement about the incident. “At approximately 2:00 pm, the Sol Spin ride experienced technical difficulties causing the ride to stop mid-cycle. We followed the ride manufacturer’s and Knott’s emergency procedures to safely evacuate the 22 guests by 4:30.”
Details about what caused the ride to break down remain unknown.
Knott’s Berry Farm Guests Recall the Terrifying Moments on Sol Spin Amid Breakdown
Following the ordeal, a couple of Knoll’s Berry Farm guests who were on the Sol Spin ride when it broke down spoke out.
“It spun two times around and then when we hit the top, it stopped,” 14-year-old rider Yandel Espinoza stated, per the New York Post. “Then it shut down and we got stuck up there and we started panicking. We felt like we were going to die.”
Espinoza’s 13-year-old, Jaedyn Cannon, who was also on the ride, pointed out that they were not upside down when the ride unexpectedly stopped. “We were in a weird position,” Cannon said. “We were like sideways.”
Sol Spin replaced a different Mondial Rides attraction known as Windseeker. It opened in 2017. It is located in the park’s Fiesta Village. A total of 36 rides can be on the ride at the same time. This means that the ride was at a low capacity when it broke down.