North Carolina Riders Left Stranded On Amusement Park Ride
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Carowinds experienced a power outage Thursday night, June 9, that caused one ride to get stuck for more than an hour.
Patrons were stuck on the popular Windseeker ride hundreds of feet in the air. Park employees said a power outage was to blame.
“All of a sudden it was just eerily silent and maybe about a minute later there was an announcement for people not to panic and that ride technicians were working to get them off the rides,” said one Carowinds visitor.
“It just went out. Then it came back on and the ride was going up, and all of a sudden it just stopped right there,” Robert Curry explained.
Friday Carowinds announced it will operate on normal park hours (10 a.m. – 10 p.m.). However, some rides will remain closed for today – Barracuda Blasters, Sand Dune Lagoon, Southern Sidewinder and Whitewater Falls.
Charlotte Fire, MEDIC and Duke Energy each responded to the scene.
Carowinds released the following statement around 9:45 Thursday night:
Around 8 pm this evening, there was a power failure at Carowinds. As a result, there was a partial power outage in the park. Several rides were stopped and safely evacuated. We are currently lowering WindSeeker to the ground. As always, the safety of our guests and associates is our highest priority.
All rides were successfully evacuated.
Click here to watch video from the scene.
Source: WCNC