Tower thrill riders OK after power outage at Las Vegas casin

[Grant]

ASSOCIATED PRESS

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Six tourists from Japan were reported Wednesday to be OK after being stranded for about 90 minutes on a casino thrill ride 866 feet above the Las Vegas Strip.

Officials blamed a power outage caused by the crash of a car into a street-level electricity transformer for the Tuesday night mishap near the top of the Stratosphere tower, the tallest structure west of the Mississippi River.

The six riders were left stranded in seats aboard the teeter-totter type X-Scream, which stopped in a down-slant position jutting 27 feet over the edge of the tower.

Stratosphere spokesman Mike Gilmartin said the ride was not damaged, but remained shut down Wednesday while mechanics and inspectors checked it for safety.

A roller-coaster, a rapid outdoor vertical lift called the "Big Shot," and "Insanity," an attraction that spins riders at the end of mechanical fingers suspended over the edge of the observation deck, were running Wednesday. Those rides also stopped when power was interrupted about 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, but riders were not stranded.

No injuries were reported after power was restored and the X-Scream riders were returned to the observation deck about 7:15 p.m.

Four men and a woman who Gilmartin identified as Japanese tourists were taken to a nearby hospital to be checked.

Gilmartin said attendants stabilized the ride, ensured the riders were physically unharmed, and began preparing to use a manual override to bring the X-Scream back to start position when power was restored.

A Las Vegas Fire Department heavy rescue team was summoned at 7:04 p.m., but power was restored before firefighters arrived.

Nevada Power Co. said the outage affected about 215 customers in the neighborhood around the Stratosphere. Power remained on inside the casino.

The mishap was the second this year involving a thrill ride on the observation deck near the top of the 1,100-foot-tall structure that resembles the Space Needle in Seattle.

In April, high winds triggered a shut-down of the Insanity ride, leaving two girls stuck for about 80 minutes before workers pulled them to safety. They were not hurt.

[Grant]

I bet that 90 minutes felt like forever.

Like forever!!! Now this is a good example of why chicken here doesn't do thrill rides. LOL

I don't know what the temps. were in Vegas yesterday, but that could have been a very chilly wait.

If the power went off at 5:45 why did they wait until 7:04 to call Fire and Resuce? I understand that the power came back on it's own and all was well. BUT, what if a matter of minutes was crucial.
I wonder how you say Lawyer in Asian?

[Grant]

I am sure they had their staff and engineers working on trying to get it fixed. After probably like 20 minutes or more, they decided it wouldn't get fixed and maybe the people started getting quite upset.

[GREGRIO]

Poor STRATOSPHERE...their electrical system/planning in
general leaves alot to be desired.

The HIGH ROLLER ROLLER COASTER is stopping operation
Dec. 30 too......it will be dismantled over the next 3 months and
replaced with a new thrill ride of some kind...no anouncements yet.

[Livinthedream]

Has anyone done these rides.My wife and I did the rollercoaster a few years ago fun but would not do a again.When you step on you look straight down a crack between where the platform ends and ride begins.Freeked us but neat to do

[GREGRIO]

I've never ridden any of them...it's more fun to console
the freaked single women when they get off...know what I mean LOL!

[misterKeno]

Neat stuff... i would've smiled & been just fine.
They got a ton of safety measures on those rides.
I'm sure the tourists were given vouchers for whatever they wanted (at sea level).

Ive rode all of them except Insanity.

mK