Lumberjack ride at Canada’s Wonderland park pauses mid-air, trapping passengers

A screenshot taken from social media shows passengers dangling from the area after the abrupt stop of of the Lumberjack ride at Ontario’s Wonderland theme park.

Screenshot by NPR/@jiashira_ on TikTok

A Canadian amusement park ride turned into nightmare fuel on Sunday after stopping suddenly, suspending passengers upside down, 75 feet above the ground, for nearly 30 minutes.

The lumberjack ride, located at Canada’s Wonderland theme park in Vaughan, Ontario, contains two hydraulic arms, shaped like axes, that swing back and forth, occasionally propelling themselves into full 360-degree swings.

Both of those axes stopped moving at 10:40 p.m. (local time), according to a statement from the Park shared with NPR.

A Wonderland spokesperson did not disclose the cause of the ride’s abrupt stop, but did say that the maintenance team was able to respond quickly.

All passengers were back on the ground by 11:05 p.m., the park said. Two people were treated for chest pain before being released.

Theme park crowds watched as the rescue unfolded, capturing the dangling passengers crying for help in videos shared on social media.

In some clips, the park staff can be heard through a megaphone asking, “Is everyone doing OK up there?” The crowd of riders shouts back “No!” in near-unison.

It’s unclear how many people were on the ride, which contains enough seats for 48 people. Some of the passengers were seated face-to-face with strangers, a design choice that “let guests interact with one another and watch the terror on their friends’ faces as they loop round and round,” according to the Wonderland website.