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Daily Record
Daily Record
World
James Rodger & Hannah Mackenzie Wood

Alton Tower guests left stranded at 180ft on Oblivion ride on UK’s hottest day

Alton Towers thrill seekers were left stranded 180ft in the air after the Oblivion rollercoaster broke down on the hottest day in UK recorded history.

Guests were pictured being led down from the vertical drop ride as the temperatures reach 37C at the Staffordshire theme park, Birmingham Live reports. Visitor Dean, who shared images of the incident to Twitter, wrote: "A Oblivion shuttle has stopped at the top, I’m sure the magical bottles of water will be straight out in this heat!

"Preparations are underway to evacuate the riders from the shuttle at the top, clearly the ride cannot be re-started at this point in time! Guests are now being evacuated from the top, they have remained safe throughout the evacuation, with bottled water provided, and a harness to walk back down to the ground!" Dean continued.

A spokesperson for Alton Towers said: "Oblivion experienced a routine stoppage. The ride performed exactly as it is designed to do."

They added: "In line with our well-rehearsed procedures, guests were assisted from the ride and were immediately given water, food, hats and all left happy to continue on with their day at the park. At no point was guest safety compromised."

Alton Towers has released a statement informing guests of all the resort is doing to keep visitors as safe and comfortable as possible while they enjoy the park's facilities. "We are aware of the forecast of hot temperatures in the coming week and will be taking the appropriate precautions to ensure our guests can continue to enjoy a magical and safe day out our attractions," said a spokesperson for Alton Towers in a statement.

"The health and safety of our guests and staff is our number one priority so our attractions will be operating with additional precautions for the hot weather, including free water top ups and sun cream located at multiple points across the park, as well as additional water bottles and welfare breaks for our staff.

"Each Merlin attraction has a different set of experiences and our dedicated Health & Safety teams will continue to monitor the situation. We encourage guests to check with the attraction website for updates and top tips to prepare ahead of their visit."

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