Riders trapped on roller coaster in California theme park

(NECN/ABC) – Fire crews had to use a cherry picker to reach two dozen people stuck up to 80 feet in the air on a rollercoaster at the great American Theme park in Santa Clara, California. Some were left dangling for hours before they were safely brought down. “All the guests are seated. They’re not upside down or anything like that. They’re in a seated position, comfortably,” said a Great American Theme Park spokesperson. The process was painstakingly slow as rescuers secured each rider then one by one lifted them down. “They’re kicking their feet and it doesn’t look like anyone was in distress. Looked like a lot of people were handing them water and stuff, keeping them hydrated,” said theme park guest Brian Murrell. The Invertigo ride is a favorite of thrill seekers. Riders experience 5 G’ s or five times the force of gravity while going through 6 inversions, and spinning around a 72 foot vertical loop, but today the thrill was cut short when the ride malfunctioned in the 90 degree heat. “Safety is our number one priority so we’re taking it slow and easy to sure that we do this and don’t have any issues as a result,” said the park’s spokesperson. There was a similiar problem 9 years ago, there were no injuries then, and none today. The ride will remain closed while investigators determine what went wrong. Carla Wohl reports for ABC News