An exciting day at Six Flags almost turned tragic on Monday when a roller coaster derailed after it slammed into a tree branch.
Four people were slightly injured and nearly two dozen were left stranded 20 to 30 feet in air when the Ninja coaster came flying off the tracks at Six Flags Magic Mountain in California, AP reports.
Two of the four people injured were transported to a hospital as a precaution, but officials said all injuries were minor.
According to Michael Pittman of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, the roller coaster hit the branch around 5:30 p.m. and the thrill ride came to a complete stop with the front car dangling high above the ground. The ride would remain closed for the rest of the day.
Pittman added that it took nearly three hours for all 22 of the trapped riders to be rescued.
Pointing to a cut on his forehead, injured rider Jeremy Ead described his terrifying experience to KCAL-TV.
“We were going across one turn and all of a sudden a loud noise happened,” he said. “I ducked down just in time. A hard branch hit me in the head. I was there bleeding from my head, which was a little worse than this.”
Viewers at home watched on television as the front car of the coaster dangled at an angle off the side of the track.
Firefighters and maintenance workers equipped with harnesses could be seen as they slowly worked to remove the riders one at a time.
Despite fighting back the fear of their impending doom, the helpless thrill-seekers waited patiently and appeared calm as emergency officials worked for hours to reach them.
Some could even be seen chatting it up with each other, while others closed their eyes.
In a statement, Six Flags said that everyone had remained alert and able to easily communicate with park staff during the evacuation process.
The terrifying accident comes almost a year after a woman died when she was launched from a coaster at Six Flags Over Texas. The death was ruled accidental, but her family has sued Six Flags as well as the German company responsible for constructing the ride.
In 2012, riders found themselves trapped 300 feet in the air for more than three hours when a ride called Windseeker unexpectedly stopped running at Knotts Berry Farm in Southern California.
A description of Ninja on the Six Flags website sheds some light on why the coaster’s derailment may have happened in the first place.
“As you shoot down the snake-like steel track you’ll grip the hillsides and blast through the trees swiftly, slicing through the landscape,” the description says. “Ninja pivots with precision as you narrowly miss tagging land and water, whipping around at 55 miles per hour.”