Eight Texas students rescued after roller coaster stalls nearly 100 feet up

A mechanical malfunction stopped the Iron Shark roller coaster nearly 100 feet in the air at Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier, leaving eight Texas students stranded on a field trip for almost four hours before firefighters brought them down one by one.

The riders were later identified in local reporting as students from Energized for STEM Academy Middle School and Energized for STEM Academy High School, both Houston ISD charter schools. The coaster came to a halt during its vertical climb on Thursday evening, with reports placing the stoppage at about 5:21 p.m. to 5:37 p.m. The last student was retrieved shortly after 9 p.m.

Fire crews used a tower truck or ladder truck that reached a maximum height of 105 feet to reach the train. Galveston firefighters then secured each rider in a harness and lowered them carefully, in a process that took more than three hours. The amusement park was temporarily closed while crews worked.

Galveston Fire Chief Mike Varela Jr. said the students were shaken up but were checked for dehydration and appeared to be doing well. No injuries were reported.

The incident put a spotlight on the safety systems at one of Galveston’s marquee thrill rides. Pleasure Pier says the Iron Shark features a 100-foot vertical lift, a beyond-vertical drop, top speeds of 52 miles per hour and a height requirement of 48 inches. The coaster is built to deliver a family-market thrill, but Thursday’s stall turned that promise into a long rescue operation high above the pier.

Pleasure Pier and Landry’s Inc. said the ride experienced a mechanical malfunction and stopped as designed to keep riders safe. The company said the coaster would undergo a thorough inspection before it returned to service. Varela also said the pier had been designed with fire department input, which helped crews get trucks and equipment to the back of the ride more quickly.

For the students and the firefighters who brought them down, the rescue ended without injury. For the park and for regulators, the episode was a reminder that when a high-risk ride is marketed to families and school groups, the real test is not whether it can thrill a crowd, but whether its shutdown systems, evacuation procedures and maintenance checks can protect riders when the machinery stops where it should not.