ORLANDO, Fla.,None — Dozens of people were left hanging on one of SeaWorld's roller coasters for nearly 20 minutes Friday afternoon. Near the top of the Manta roller coaster, guests at SeaWorld in Orlando started snapping photos while others had to do a double-take.
AT THE SCENE: Images Of Stuck Coaster
"He's going 'They're stuck!' and I go, 'No, they're not stuck!'" Raven Cohan said.
Gene and Raven Cohan had decided to skip the ride when the coaster suddenly stopped with a full load of riders strapped in.
"We were saying, 'They're not moving!' but I couldn't believe it," she said.
A SeaWorld spokesman told WFTV something set off a sensor on Manta, which automatically stopped the coaster.
The park didn't give an official count of how many people were stuck, but they were rescued using a special platform placed beneath each row of seats. No one was hurt.
SeaWorld says the guests were stranded about 18 minutes, but others watching from the ground say it seemed longer than that.
The empty coaster finally rolled back into place and people were riding it again around 2:30pm.
It was all a surprise for fans of the popular ride that's only been running for about a year and a half.
"I went to one of the guys, I said, 'How often does this happen?' He said, 'Well it's got to happen sometimes because it's a machine,'" Cohan said.
Park officials said an incident like that rarely happens and tested the ride with no one on it for about 20 minutes before people were allowed back on it.
WFTV
