14 July 2023 , 13:30
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Day-trippers at Alton Towers faced an agonising wait when a rollercoaster broke down - leaving them dangling vertically in mid-air.
New footage shared on social media shows puzzled crowds watching as carriages on the famous Smiler ride grind to a halt, before slowly moving downwards.
Alton Towers described the incident as a "routine pause in operation" and said guests were held stationary before being assisted off the ride at the nearest exit point.
The paused train was lowered to ground level, with guests assisted off within 'two minutes and two seconds'.
New footage shows the moment The Smiler ride at Alton Towers broke down (Twitter/taywhelanx)
Passengers were left dangling vertically in mid-air when a safety procedure was triggered (Twitter/taywhelanx)Many social media users however appeared alarmed by the stop, as one wrote: "I was on this yesterday!"
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Another simply said "Wow", while one person chose to see the bright side as she joked: "At least they weren't upside down."
Reassuring everyone that no one was at risk while the ride stopped, one social media user explained: "The train going backwards down the lift hill in video 1 is a design feature to allow the ride to return to the bottom of the lift hill for easier evacuation.
"Yeah it looks scary, and I will be odd to be on it, but that’s the ride working as designed, no one is at risk of harm.
The Alton Towers ride has made headlines in the past for technical faults (AFP via Getty Images)An Alton Towers spokesperson said: "The Smiler experienced a routine pause in operation as it is designed to do. In line with our rigorous safety procedures, guests were held stationary before being assisted off the ride at the nearest exit point.
"Whilst we understand some people may find a ride stoppage an unsettling experience, we would like to reassure guests it is completely routine and common across theme parks worldwide.
"Our team were on hand to speak to the guests both via the ride’s PA system and in-person to provide re-assurance within minutes of the pause to operation.
"Staff then spoke to all guests when they exited the ride and no medical assistance was required.
"Everyone affected was offered complimentary refreshments, fastrack passes to other rides and a free return visit on a future date as a gesture of goodwill.”
In 2019, riders were also left hanging 100ft in the air for a whole 20 minutes when the same ride broke down.