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Rollercoaster Malfunction Leaves Tourists Hanging On A 90 Degree Angle

Rollercoaster Malfunction Leaves Tourists Hanging On A 90 Degree Angle

Terrified park-goers were told they were '100 per cent safe'. OK then.

Rachael Grealish

Rachael Grealish

Twenty thrill-seekers were left terrified when a rollercoaster ride malfunctioned while teetering on the edge of a 15-storey fall.

The world's only tilting rollercoaster, the 'Gravity Max', is situated in Taiwan and takes riders to the edge of a platform before tipping a full 90 degrees and aligning with a set of vertical tracks

Well, that's what the ride is meant to do. However, for the tourists visiting LIHPAO Discovery Land the train suffered a suspected misalignment forcing the train to tilt forwards then backwards over the 15-storey drop forcing the riders to make an exit from the coaster.

The entire incident was captured on camera and showed the horrific moment the passengers were left dangling on the edge of the ride before finally settling back on the horizontal tracks - while other park visitors could only look on below.

Ride Malfunction Leaves Tourists Hanging On A 90 Degree Angle. credit: AsiaWire
Ride Malfunction Leaves Tourists Hanging On A 90 Degree Angle. credit: AsiaWire

The incident was said to be caused by the cliff-hanger ride's fail-safe kicking in - which meant the ride couldn't be released on to the separate set of tracks, so the terrified punters were left contemplating the drop for longer than they were probably planning.

Thankfully, none of the passengers were injured on the ride and made it to safety.

Wang Yung-hao, the theme park director, said the fully seated ride car wasn't able to properly line up with the vertical tracks below so the hooks held onto the car, preventing it from moving down the track.

Engineers went on to fully inspect the ride and declared it safe for reopening just 20 minutes after the incident.

Ride Malfunction Leaves Tourists Hanging On A 90 Degree Angle. credit: AsiaWire
Ride Malfunction Leaves Tourists Hanging On A 90 Degree Angle. credit: AsiaWire

Wang said the engineers were 'satisfied that the fail-safe would prevent riders from coming to any harm'.

The director went on to say that misalignment can happen in winds that go over '6' on the Beaufort scale - this equates to 25 to 31mph (39 to 49 km/h), which would be described as a 'strong breeze' - along with strong winds, heavy rain or fog.

In a bid to reassure guests and tourist, he said they were '100 per cent safe' on the tilting coaster.

Ride Malfunction Leaves Tourists Hanging On A 90 Degree Angle. credit: AsiaWire
Ride Malfunction Leaves Tourists Hanging On A 90 Degree Angle. credit: AsiaWire

To apologise for the incident, each of the 20 tourists were given some theme park coupons worth 150 TWD, which equates to a whopping £3.70.

The Cliffhanger was opened in 2002 and has 580 metres (1,900 feet) of track. Its highest point takes riders to 49 metres (160 ft) and it reaches speeds of 94 kph (58 mph).

NO THANKS.

Featured Image Credit: AsiaWire

Topics: World News, taiwan