18 People ‘Trapped’ on Amusement Park Ride in Southern California Rescued by Operators and Officials

Natalia Senanayake
·3-min read

All riders were rescued within 35 minutes of fire crew members arriving on the scene, according to the Ventura County Fire Department

<p>VCFD_PIO/X</p> The Zipper ride

VCFD_PIO/X

The Zipper ride

Approximately 18 people were trapped when a carnival ride got stuck in Thousand Oaks, Calif., according to the Ventura County Fire Department.

Firefighters responded to the scene shortly after 8 p.m. local time on Sunday, June 23, and were able to rescue all riders within 35 minutes, the fire department wrote in a statement on their official X (formerly Twitter) account on Monday, June 24.

“Sunday night, VCFD firefighters responded to a technical rescue at the Conejo Creek Park as approximately 18 people were trapped on an amusement park ride,” the statement reads.

“Firefighters were able to successfully rescue all riders, by manually lowering the amusement ride. No injuries reported. Fire crews were on scene for about 35 minutes. 911 call received at 8:05 pm and all riders were rescued from the ride by 8:35 pm.”

The ride is part of the Conejo Valley Days Carnival which runs from June 20 to June 30, according to their official website.

Related: More Amusement Park Riders Speak Out After Being Stranded Upside Down, 'Completely Helpless'

Kay Kastl of Kastl Amusements — the company that owns the carnival ride — confirmed to PEOPLE that it was the Zipper that got stuck.

In an official statement, Kastl says, “the computer control system on the Zipper ride detected an anomaly and stopped the ride's operation as it was designed to do. The passengers remained safely secured, were not upside down, and were in no danger at any time.”

Kastl adds that while the fire department did arrive at the scene, it was the ride staff who were able to successfully unload the riders. Ventura County Fire Department could not confirm to PEOPLE whether ride staff also helped rescue the riders.

“The evacuation procedure, while seemingly slow, is carefully designed to maintain the balance of the ride vehicles and keeps the passengers safe at all times,” Kastl’s statement continues. “All passengers were unloaded safely by ride staff with no reported injuries.”

According to the company’s official website, the ride is designed so that, “as the center boom rotates, so do the free flipping cars around it.”

Related: Teen 'Thought We Were Going to Die' While Stuck Upside Down for 20 Minutes on Amusement Ride

<p>Portland Fire and Rescue/Facebook</p> Riders trapped upside down at Oaks Amusement Park in Oregon

Portland Fire and Rescue/Facebook

Riders trapped upside down at Oaks Amusement Park in Oregon

The incident comes nearly one week after 28 people were trapped upside down for almost 20 minutes on Portland's Oaks Amusement Park's AtmosFEAR ride on Friday, June 14.

Passengers were suspended upside down in its "apex position" at around 2:55 p.m. when the ride stopped in its place, the park said in a statement shared to X (formerly Twitter).

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"We wish to express our deepest appreciation to the first responders and our staff for taking prompt action, leading to a positive outcome today, and to the rest of the park guests who swiftly followed directions to vacate the park to make way for the emergency responders to attend to the situation," park officials wrote in the statement. "Most of all, we are thankful that the riders are safe and with their families."

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