Rage rollercoaster breaks down at Adventure Island again

The Rage rollercoaster at Adventure Island, in Western Esplanade, is believed to have malfunctioned today, resulting in a rescue operation.

It is believed that during its routine operation, the ride broke down just before 3pm.

A video released on social media shows seven individuals being rescued whilst stuck on the rollercoaster’s vertical lift as they lay on their backs. 

Theme park - Adventure Island in Southend (Image: Nick Ansell/PA)

Rage rollercoaster - A photo from the first time it broke down in July (Image: Nicola Tiney)

Adventure Island’s engineers are understood to have rescued the riders by 3.30pm as they used an emergency escape platform on the right side of the car.

Rage is hailed as the theme park’s “biggest and best” rollercoaster, with exhilarating loops, twists and levels of speed. 

The Stockvale group operates Adventure Island and its Managing Director, Marc Miller, spoke to the BBC about the incident.

He said: "A carriage on Rage was stopped on the lower section of the lift, via the ride's dual process safety PLC (programmable logic controller computer)," Mr Miller said.

"The group of friends were all in good spirits and [were] down, safe and sound in under 35 minutes and then happy to carry on with their day at Adventure Island.

"Rage then went through its full testing processes to reopen later in the afternoon."

The latest incident follows another on July 28, this year.