A rollercoaster car at the Daytona Beach Boardwalk has derailed (pictured) sending two people on a 10 metre drop to the ground. Photo / Daytona Beach Fire Department
A rollercoaster car at the Daytona Beach Boardwalk has derailed (pictured) sending two people on a 10 metre drop to the ground. Photo / Daytona Beach Fire Department
Screams filled the air at the Daytona Beach Boardwalk on Thursday night after a rollercoaster car derailed, dropping two people 34 feet (10.3m) to the ground.
Daytona Beach Fire Department rushed to the scene, where they were seen using ladders and a crane to save several other trapped carnival-goers, slowly but surely ushering them across a bridge to be lowered down to safety.
The department freed ten people in total from the ride, after one car completely derailed and another two became stuck, and six of those passengers are in hospital, the Daily Mail reports.
DB Firefighters working as fast as they can to rescue 2 riders that are in a dangling rollercoaster car pic.twitter.com/v0UrChJdHC
— DaytonaBeachFireDept (@DaytonaBeachFD) June 15, 2018
The rollercoaster derailed just after 8.30pm on Thursday, with four people in the front car, which pointed straight down to the ground, barely connected to anything apart from the car behind it.
Two of the riders in the first car are the ones who fell to the ground.
Another four were in the second car, and two more were trapped in the third car, a spokeswoman from the Daytona Beach Fire Department told the News Journal.
#DBFD on scene at the Boardwalk in Daytona Beach rescuing riders from a roller coaster car that derailed and are hanging pic.twitter.com/BFDRa8hFiI
— DaytonaBeachFireDept (@DaytonaBeachFD) June 15, 2018
Two people were stuck in their car for more than 30 minutes as fire crews worked as quickly as they could to extract the passengers.
Video obtained by Fox News shows a man pleading with riders not to move as a woman, believed to be on the ride, is heard shrieking.
The rollercoaster is the Sandblaster, and is 40 years old.
The ride opened at the Boardwalk in August 2013, after it was purchased from a closed down amusement park.
In February 2017, the Sandblaster had a stop operation order imposed on it after an inspector from the Department of Agriculture found "numerous problems" with the ride.
Rescue crews and good Samaritans worked to free the trapped riders, some of whom were stuck in their car for half an hour. Phto / Daytona Beach Fire Department
The inspection report, obtained by the News Journal, listed a worn and damaged handrail, four safety cables not properly secured, three worn and damaged braces, a missing brace, 10 worn and damaged deck braces, a damaged seat bracket, two seats not properly secured, corroded fencing, cracked supports and damaged lighting fixtures.
The Boardwalk's website claims the attraction has since been repaired, passed inspection, and become operational again.
At it's highest point over more than half a mile of track, the Sandblaster is 85 feet (26m) high.
The full extent of the riders injuries is unknown.
