Twenty-seven people are trapped on ‘Wipeout’ rollercoaster 50ft in the air for more than three hours at Suffolk theme park

Dozens of thrillseekers were trapped on a rollercoaster 50ft in the air for around three hours.

Firefighters rescued 27 people left stranded on the Wipeout rollercoaster at Pleasurewood Hills in Lowestoft, Suffolk, after the ride broke down.

The incident happened just before 1.30pm today.

Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service said the people have been stuck for several hours and crews from three stations attended the scene.

Pictures posted by the fire service show the riders sitting upright in their seats.   

A spokesman said: ‘The carriages, which came to a stop on the track, are approximately 15 metres in the air, but not upside down.

‘Crews will be using advanced rescue at height equipment to bring down the ride passengers.’

The stranded passengers were rescued at 4.05pm. 

The incident happened just before 1.30pm on Monday and has seen the thrillseekers left stranded nearly 50ft in the air

A spokesman said on Monday afternoon: ‘Firefighters have now rescued all 27 passengers and brought them safely to the ground using our aerial ladder and a scissor lift. No one was injured.’ 

The surfing-themed ride opened at Pleasurewood Hills in 2007 billed as ‘the tallest, fastest and most extreme ride in East Anglia’.

It is the only Vekoma Boomerang in the country – a type of rollercoaster that shoots down a lift hill before hurtling through a cobra roll and a vertical loop.

Pleasurewood Hills has been contacted for comment.

In 2017, firefighters had to cut an injured man free from the rollercoaster when the ride broke down. 

It had stopped working after heavy rainfall, leaving dozens trapped at its highest point before it was due to descend.

The man was rescued using a cherrypicker. 

A spokesman for the theme park told the BBC at the time it was ‘a minor incident that was dealt with by [our] team’. 

The ride underwent a £1million transformation in 2024/25, which included a new train with waist restraint lap bars for improved comfort and safety.

Pleasurewood Hills describes Wipeout on its website as the ‘ultimate adrenaline rush’. 

‘Wipeout delivers an unforgettable ride experience, sending guests speeding forwards through twists, turns, a loop, and two cobra rolls, before stopping and reversing along the same track for the ultimate backwards thrill,’ it reads. 

‘With six inversions in total, this high-octane coaster keeps hearts racing and adrenaline pumping from start to finish.’