Lanarkshire, Scotland - After experiencing what has been reported by Theme Park Tourist and other sites as a “mechanical failure,” the Tsunami roller coaster at M&D Scotland’s Theme Park left nine passengers stranded at the top of the ride’s lift hill for as long as 8 hours. The Telegraph has since reported that an M&D spokesman confirmed that the ride’s lift chain broke, but the anti-rollback device worked as designed and prevented the train from rolling backwards. At approximately 4:15 p.m. on July 3, the group of riders was stranded nearly 60 feet above the ground near the top of the rides lift hill, with the last being rescued around 12:45 a.m. the next morning.

A park spokesperson said guests were in no danger where the train was stranded, and park personnel brought the passengers water to keep them hydrated until they could be released. While no passengers suffered any physical injuries, some seemed to let panic and fear overtake them somewhat. According to a report by The Telegraph, Sadiq Mian told ITV1 Daybreak that “We thought we were going to die....People around me were crying and everybody was really distressed.” He said he tried to reassure everyone they would be OK, and he was right, as the ride’s stall location on the lift posed no threat to riders.

The Tsunami roller coaster is a small, portable Pinfari inverted roller coaster, which features a number of twists, spirals, and a few inversions in a very compact layout. Originally operating as a traveling ride with several carnivals in Spain, England, and Brazil, the ride has been operating permanently at M&D’s since 2004. Part of what made evacuating the ride so tricky was the ride’s lack of a catwalk along the lift hill, meaning riders could not simply be released from their harness and walked down like on most coasters.

Mian also told The Telegraph that part of the reason the rescue took so long is because the ground under the train was so soft that the fire engine was sinking into the ground, making ladder use difficult, so they had to move on to a “Plan B.” This backup plan required rescue workers to set up series of ropes and harnesses to allow them to secure each guest before lowering them safely to the ground.

The park has experienced several other similar incidents in the past as well. In 2005, six riders became trapped on the Vortex roller coaster and had to be rescued by firefighters, then in 2009, another six riders became stuck on the Tornado ride when high winds caused the ride to automatically shut down. None of these incidents posed any physical threat to passengers, and no injuries were reported in any of the events.

The ride will now remain closed until at least Tuesday, when the ride is inspected by health and safety examiners. Again, no injuries were suffered by any guests at the park, other than the distress the event may have caused them.