Photo: FOX 35 Orlando/Youtube
Bystanders at the National Cherry Festival in Michigan helped steady a carnival ride that appeared to be malfunctioning with riders aboard Thursday evening, as seen in video captured from the scene.
According tolocal news outlet WPBN, the fair attraction is called the Magic Carpet Ride and is supposed to spin in circles along a single axis as riders are seated.
A spokesperson for the National Cherry Festival did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment, though executive director Kat Paye did issue a statement Friday.
“The magic carpet ride that malfunctioned last night was removed and is in route to its manufacturer to be inspected. Inspections of the rides happen daily and written reports are filled out and completed on each ride every morning prior to operation,” Paye stated. “I have spoken with representatives of Arnold’s Amusements after the incident last night and again this morning. I am grateful for the quick response of staff and community members and very thankful that there were no injuries.”
Want to get the biggest stories fromPEOPLEevery weekday?Subscribe to our new podcast,PEOPLE Every Day,to get the essential celebrity, entertainment and human interest news stories Monday through Friday.
Someone who was on the ride during the incidenttold WPBN, “The ride goes, and I guess it’s kind of hard to tell once you’re in the air. I could tell it was a lot more violent and seemed a little more shaky.”
There were no injuries reported, according to WPBN. The incident reportedly occurred at about 11 p.m. local time and that the ride was taken down and gone the following morning on Friday.
According to the festival’sofficial website, the event, which dates back to 1926, attracts more than 500,000 attendees over its eight days each year.
“Obviously there was a malfunction. We don’t know as of yet what it was. The ride has been dismantled. It is gone and it is on its way back to the factory, the company that makes it is in Ohio, and it’s on its way down there for them to figure out what happened,” he explained. “Was it a malfunction? Was a computer glitch? We don’t know. We’re just not sure what it was.”
source: people.com
