Eight students spent several hours stranded nearly 100 feet in the air on Thursday evening (May 28) after a roller coaster malfunctioned at Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier in Texas. The incident occurred when the Iron Shark roller coaster stopped during its vertical climb, leaving the riders stuck on the incline, facing skyward.

The group, made up of students from Energized for STEM Academy Middle School and STEM Academy High School—two in-district charter schools with the Houston Independent School District—was on a field trip at the time of the malfunction, according to the district.

Galveston Fire Chief Mike Varela said emergency crews arrived at about 5:30 p.m. to begin the rescue. Using a ladder truck that reached up to 105 feet, each student was secured in a harness and carefully transferred one by one to a truck basket before being lowered to safety. The process took more than three hours, with each rescue taking about 20 minutes. Firefighters were especially cautious, as the students had been exposed to the sun and there was concern about dehydration.

Chief Varela praised the rescue team, stating, "They’re well trained; they're ready to go when called upon." He also noted that all students were checked for dehydration and "everyone seems to be doing pretty good." After the last student was brought down shortly after 9 p.m., the city confirmed that all eight were safe

Pleasure Pier officials evacuated the park during the operation. Terry Turney, the chief operating officer of Pleasure Pier, said in a statement that “the ride experienced a malfunction at its initial ascent, however, as designed, it immediately stopped to keep everyone safe.” He added that a thorough inspection of the ride is underway, and the Iron Shark will remain closed until the cause of the malfunction is determined.

The Iron Shark roller coaster features a 100-foot vertical drop and reaches speeds up to 52 miles per hour. Officials have not yet identified the exact cause of the malfunction. The ride will remain closed pending a full inspection.

You can watch a video of the dramatic rescue below:

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Bill Cunningham