Twenty-eight people were left hanging upside down for almost half an hour on a ride that suddenly stopped at Oaks Amusement Park in southeast Portland, Oregon, on the park’s first day of season opening.
According to what the managers reported in a post on X, during a race the “AtmosFEAR stopped in the apical position while it was rotating 360 degreesleaving 28 people suspended upside down” 100 feet in the air. It took about 25 minutes before the Portland Fire Department and park engineers were able to manually lower the ride.
No injuries were reported, but the park said one person with underlying medical conditions was taken to the hospital for further evaluation. The cause of the ride’s interruption is unclear, but officials say the ride will be closed until further notice.
The testimonies
“My whole bladder hurts. I was holding back vomit. My legs are killing me,” said Daniel Allen, one of those left suspended who called the 25-minute ordeal “just crazy.”
Some stranded teens told KOIN 6 News that being suspended in the air like that made them think about life. “People praying to God, screaming for their lives, vomiting, passing out, it was bad,” Jordan Harding said.
The park statement
Oaks Park released a statement about the incident: “At approximately 2:55 this afternoon, the AtmosFEAR ride stopped in the apex position while operating in the 360-degree setting, suspending 28 people upside down. Oaks Park staff immediately initiated emergency procedures and called 911. Rescuers arrived around 3.20pm. Within minutes, Oaks Park Maintenance returned the passengers safely to the ground, where medics were waiting to assess their health.
The AtmosFEAR has been in operation since 2021 and has operated without incident to date. The race will remain closed until further notice. Oaks Park Management was immediately in contact with the manufacturer and will work with both the manufacturer and state inspectors to identify the cause of the outage.
We would like to express our deepest appreciation to the first responders and our staff for acting promptly, leading to a positive outcome, and to the rest of the park guests who quickly followed directions to leave the park to make way for emergency responders. Most of all, we are grateful that everyone is safe and with their families.”
