Overview
- The Iron Shark stalled during its initial vertical ascent on Thursday, leaving eight Houston ISD students suspended about 30 meters above Pleasure Pier.
- Galveston firefighters deployed a large ladder truck and fitted each rider with a harness, completing a careful, one-by-one rescue that took about four hours.
- All students were brought to ground without physical injuries, were checked for dehydration, and school officials notified families and remained in contact.
- Pleasure Pier closed the ride during the operation and technicians are on site as Landry's Inc. and park staff perform a full inspection and an investigation into the malfunction.
- The Iron Shark is a high-vertical coaster with a roughly 30-meter ascent and safety systems that triggered an emergency stop, and park officials say the cause of the outage is still under review.