Rescue crews worked Thursday to bring down riders stranded aboard the Iron Shark roller coaster at Galveston’s Pleasure Pier after the ride got stuck with eight people aboard. Galveston Fire Department crews were on the pier as firefighters and rescue personnel began removing riders one by one.
Eyewitness News live camera video showed the ride stopped at 5:21 p.m., and Galveston police said officials were called around 5:35 p.m. as the amusement park was closed during the operation. Initial images showed seven people still on the ride as a crane with rescue crews removed riders from the train car.
The rescue process required each rider to be fitted into a safety harness before being brought down the tower truck, and Tower 1 occupied space on the pier to give first responders room to work. By 8:20 p.m., five riders had been safely removed and were being taken down a ladder by firefighters, while three remained on the roller coaster.
The Iron Shark sits at Pleasure Pier and features a 100-foot vertical lift hill, a 1,246-foot coaster track and a top speed of 52 miles per hour, according to the pier’s website. Terry Turney said the ride experienced a malfunction at its initial ascent and stopped immediately to keep everyone safe, and Landry’s Inc. said the coaster stopped as it was designed to do in that kind of situation. The company said a thorough inspection would take place before the ride returned to service.
That inspection will decide when the galveston roller coaster can reopen, but Thursday’s rescue made clear the shutdown was not a routine pause. It was a controlled response to a mechanical problem that left riders suspended above the pier until firefighters could get each one safely down.
