Credit: @EmergenciasEc on X Dozens of guests were trapped in midair as a power outage caused chaos at a popular theme park.
While visiting their favorite theme parks and amusement parks, guests would expect to scream in excitement from riding these locations’ thrilling attractions. Unfortunately, dozens of guests were left screaming in terror as they remained trapped in midair aboard multiple rides during a lengthy power outage.
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The incident, which gained international coverage, took place in Parque Samanes, a popular theme park in Guayaquil, Ecuador. According to a report from El Universal, the viral power outage left guests trapped aboard the park’s rides for over an hour before being evacuated by first responders and emergency personnel. Parque Samanes was evacuated during the incident.
Videos of the incident went viral, showing guests sitting several feet in the air in a swing-like attraction, with other rides powering down in the background. @EmergenciasEc shared the video of the incident via X (formerly known as Twitter), which you can see below or by clicking here:
(Translated) The power went out in Samanes Park, and all the people in the amusement rides could not get off.
Se fue la luz en el parque Samanes y todas las personas que se encontraban en los juegos mecánicos están sin poder bajar. pic.twitter.com/tctEbsMKQo
— Emergencias Ec (@EmergenciasEc) January 5, 2024
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According to local media, the town’s authorities stated that the park’s power supply had malfunctioned, which caused all the rides to stop suddenly. However, the National Electrical Corporation denied that the power was being supplied by a private generator from the rides’ operators that had run out of fuel.
@wenewsec shared a different video from the incident, in which we can see the exact moment the power goes out at the Ecuadorian amusement park, which you can see below or by clicking here:
(Translated) Guayaquil, video shows the precise moment when the power went out in Samanes Park, leaving several people trapped in the amusement rides last night #SomosWeNewsEc
Guayaquil, vídeo muestra el preciso momento en que se fue la luz en el parque Samanes dejando a varias personas atrapadas en los juegos mecánicos en la noche de ayer #SomosWeNewsEc pic.twitter.com/5tQRgAydTY
— We News (@wenewsec) January 5, 2024
Parque Samanes is a free theme park recently opened in Guayaquil, Ecuador. It was built by the local government and is home to fifteen attractions.
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Unfortunately, this is not the first time a tragic incident has been reported at a loosely regulated fairground. Inside the Magic has reported on an extreme attraction spinning out of control at a fairground in Mexico and a teenage girl facing a severe personal injury after a malfunction at a fairground in Brazil. Additionally, Inside the Magic recently reported a horrifying malfunction that sent several guests flying at a state fairground in America.
To prevent similar incidents in America, the Florida Legislature created and unanimously passed a new bill to ensure the safety of all guests visiting theme parks, amusement parks, and other recreational spaces in the state.
In the Sunshine State, the Legislature unanimously approved the “Tyre Sampson Act.” Bill SB 902 — authored by Senator Geraldine Thompson — is aimed at implementing stricter safety regulations for amusement park rides to ensure the safety of all guests. This bill follows the horrifying amusement park accident at ICON Park in Orlando, Florida, in which Tyre Sampson lost his life.
The SB 902 bill — or “Tyre Sampson Act” — reportedly requires signs to be “prominently displayed” at the entrance of each ride to inform Guests of riding restrictions such as maximum and minimum height and weight — a critical point in Sampson’s incident. The bill also revises the circumstances where ride owners must report an incident, which could later result in the ride being shut down by the State.
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