Emergency services are rescuing people trapped at the Skegness Pleasure Beach
Emergency services are at the Skegness Pleasure Beach as a number of people are stuck on a malfunctioned ride that is suspended in the air. Lincolnshire Police has asked members of the public to avoid the area whilst people are being rescued.
The force says that Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue and the East Midlands Ambulance Service are also attending the incident. Releasing a statement at around 4.45pm on Tuesday (August 20), Lincolnshire Police said: "We are attending an incident at Skegness Pleasure Beach where a ride has malfunctioned and remains suspended in the air with a number of people stuck on the ride.
"Fire and ambulance are also attending. We ask members of the public to please avoid the area whilst emergency services work together to ensure the safety of the people on the ride whilst they are being rescued.
"No serious injuries have currently been reported." The Skegness Pleasure Beach was first taken on by Bottons in 1965, with rides there including the Rock N' Roller and Pirate.
Tower Esplanade has reportedly been shut as a result of this afternoon's incident, with vehicles including a crane also said to have arrived at the scene.
We will bring you updates on this live incident as we get them, which you can follow in our blog below:
One eyewitness who was at Skegness Pleasure Beach today and saw the ride malfunctioning told us it was "absolutely terrifying", with people "screaming and crying" in the aftermath. They said:
"It was absolutely terrifying. The carts were all moving the wrong way when they were going around at full speed and making a terrible banging noise - they sounded like they were crashing into something.
"People were screaming and crying...while it was still moving slowly, a little lad tried to climb out of it through sheer terror very high up and putting his arm out to who I assume was his parent - it was absolutely heart breaking to witness.
The adults on the ground were absolutely beside themselves....awful to watch."
Shane also told the BBC of his "really scary" experience, saying: he was relieved and happy to be off the ride:
"It was really scary. Everything was going up and down and then I started hearing people screaming and seeing cars being bashed into each other."
He said the ride then came to a stop and he had a long wait to be rescued, and could see his mum crying below.
Despite his ordeal, Chloe told the Mirror it hasn't put her brother off going on rides:
"We've all come back to the caravan to let him rest and calm down after everything. He can't wait to go on another ride though, he loves them so much"
Eyewitnesses have reported that some people were dangled in the air for over two hours. Chloe, 23, who did not give her surname, told the Mirror her brother Shane was on the ride:
"It was around two hours but could've been two-and-a-half. Time was a little weird because of the stress and adrenaline.
He got down by the firefighters bringing him onto a lift type thing on a long arm on top of the fire truck. They had him climb over the bar and step onto the lift floor to lower him down.
"He's a little shaken up but he was the one to make people in other carts laugh to calm them down."
LBC report that 25 people were stuck on the Super Trooper ride. The station also reports that the ride was four metres above ground.
Many reports suggest people were stuck on the ride for nearly two hours, with most people now said to have been rescued from the ride.
The Super Trooper ride affected by tonight's malfunction is only a year old. New for the summer of 2023, the ride has suffered this major fault very soon into its life. Bottons, who run Skegness Pleasure Beach, have been contacted for comment but have not yet made a statement about tonight's incident.
Several people at the scene are now reporting that people are being evacuated. One father says his daughter was stuck on the ride for at least two hours.
Emergency services are yet to release further information. The Skegness Pleasure Beach has reportedly been entirely closed off whilst the rescue continues.
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Images from people at the scene confirm that the Super Trooper ride is the one affected by a malfunction. Other images from the scene show multiple fire engines along Tower Esplanade as emergency services continue their rescue operation.
Several reports suggest that the affected ride is the Super Trooper. The ride normally spins passengers around a wheel through the air, with their feet dangling below the seats.
Other rides at the Skegness Pleasure Beach include the Giant Wheel and Yo-Yo.
Traffic data shows there is currently major disruption in Skegness as the emergency service rescue continues. There are heavy delays on all routes leading into the Skegness Pleasure Beach, with this afternoon's incident having taken place during the height of the school summer holidays.
South Parade, Lumley Road and Wainfleet Road are among the routes affected.
