22 Passengers Trapped for Two Hours on Sol Spin Ride at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park

A Knott’s Berry Farm ride got stuck for more than two hours Monday, leaving about two dozen riders suspended several stories in the air until park workers managed to manually lower the ride to the ground.

The Sol Spin ride got stuck about 2 p.m. at the theme park at 8039 Beach Blvd. in Buena Park, said Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Thanh Nguyen.

Orange County firefighters and paramedics were on standby in case they were needed, but the theme park’s employees were able to get the guests down about 4:30 p.m., Nguyen said.

It remained unclear what caused the ride to get stuck. The ride “experienced technical difficulties causing the ride to stop mid-cycle,” said Knott’s spokeswoman Valarie Sukovaty.

“We followed the ride manufacturer’s and Knott’s emergency procedures to safely evacuate the 22 guests by 4:30 p.m.,” Sukovaty said.

Video from the scene showed staffers appearing to use a winch and cables to manually bring the ride back to the ground in its usual loading position. Once on the ground, the harnesses were lifted, and riders walked off the ride.

“Out of an abundance of caution, two female guests were transported to the hospital for further evaluation,” Sukovaty said.

Cal/OSHA officials will investigate, officials said.