Nearly 30 people are hanging upside down in the air after a mishap at a Portland amusement park

Nearly 30 people were left hanging upside down for more than 20 minutes after a ride at an Oregon amusement park malfunctioned.

The AtmosFEAR ride at Oaks Amusement Park in Portland stopped working around 2:55 p.m. on Friday, leaving 28 riders stranded, the park said in a post on X.

Park staff immediately “initiated emergency procedures and called 911,” the park wrote. Emergency crews arrived around 3:20 p.m., and within minutes the attraction was lowered so guests could safely exit.

Portland Fire & Rescue said all riders were medically evaluated. The park said one person with underlying medical conditions was taken to the hospital for further evaluation out of an abundance of caution. The other riders were released by paramedics at the park.

Daniel Allen and Jordan Harding told Portland’s NBC affiliate KGW they were at the park to celebrate their high school graduation, and AtmosFEAR was their first attraction of the day.

“I was excited to keep going,” Allen told the news station. “When you’re stuck up there, I think you don’t get as excited anymore.”

Harding said when they dangled upside down for more than a few seconds, she knew something was wrong.

“We were just freaking out,” she said. “People were crying. They were just giving their last words to the universe.”

Harding said hanging upside down for so long was physically tough.

“My entire waist down was asleep,” she told the broadcaster.

Oaks Park describes AtmosFEAR as a “mind-blowing extreme attraction” and says it’s one of its most popular rides. The giant blue and black pendulum is two rides in one, offering guests the option to do a 360-degree or a 180-degree swing, the park’s website says.

The attraction has been in operation since 2021, Oaks Park’s statement said, “and has been incident-free to date.” Last year, local emergency teams conducted emergency training at the attraction, a standard procedure.

The park said its response plan was effectively implemented during Friday’s incident.

The attraction will remain closed until further notice. Oaks Park said it will work with the manufacturer and state inspectors to determine the cause of the attraction’s malfunction.