A fair ride malfunction during a school carnival at Emmaus Catholic College in Western Sydney left 20 students stranded four metres in the air on Friday.
Rescue Operation at Emmaus Catholic College
Emergency services were called to the Kemps Creek campus, located approximately 55km from central Sydney, shortly after midday. The incident occurred during the school’s Emmaus Day celebrations when the attraction became stuck in an elevated diagonal position.
Fire and Rescue New South Wales firefighters utilized an aerial ladder to rescue the students. Each rider was brought down individually by being pulled over the attraction’s safety rail.
“It doesn’t sound that much, but it’s a big enough drop to hurt somebody seriously,” said Fire and Rescue New South Wales duty commander Gary Nash.
The rescue ordeal lasted two hours. All 20 riders were brought down safely with no reported injuries, though Dylan Snape from NSW Ambulance noted that many students were quite afraid after being suspended in the air.
Investigation and Safety Context
The ride has since been quarantined and handed over to SafeWork for a formal investigation.
Similar incidents have occurred in Australia in recent years. In 2024, 13 people were rescued from the Vortex ride at Sea World on Queensland’s Gold Coast following a sensor communication fault. Those riders remained suspended 15 metres above the ground for 90 minutes before being brought down without injury.
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