Roller coaster riders stuck upside down for hours at Wisconsin festival

Eight roller coaster riders were stuck hanging upside down for around three hours at a Wisconsin festival on Sunday, officials said. 

The incident happened at the Forest County Festival in Crandon. It was the festival’s final day at the Crandon International Raceway.

Seven of the stuck passengers were children, CBS affiliate WSAW reported.

“They did all very well,” Firefighter EMT Erica Kostichka told WSAW. “Obviously, they were scared. They had been upside down for quite some time.”

Facebook user Scott Brass posted videos from the scene showing the roller coaster cars stuck. “Everyone got down safe,” he wrote. “Kudos to the little girl who told the fireman to go rescue the older man first because he was struggling. That little girl deserves a medal of courage for sure.”

The cause of the coaster’s mechanical malfunction is unknown, the Crandon fire chief told CBS News.  No injuries were reported, but one person was transported to the hospital, the fire chief said. 

The incident marked the latest in a series of recent mishaps at amusement parks worldwide.

In North Carolina, a theme park in Charlotte closed one of its roller coasters Friday after a crack was found on a support beam.

Last month, a roller coaster train derailed in Sweden, killing one person and injuring nine others.