Visitors to the Canadian Wonderland were caught in a powerful storm on Saturday, leaving some trapped on a roller coaster ride for up to 30 minutes, while others struggled to find shelter at Vaughn, Ont.
In a video posted on TikTok, visitors can be seen stranded on Behemoth, one of the largest trains in Wonderland, as strong winds and rain pass through the park.
“He came in full force in about 10 minutes … out of nowhere,” Lynn Richie, who posted the video, told CBC News.
Richie was visiting the park on Saturday with her husband and friends when she received word to take shelter immediately while she was at the front of the line to ride Behemoth.
With the bad weather coming, Richie said she expected employees to talk to each other and on the phone, stop the trip and ask everyone to leave. But that was not the case.
“While we were receiving this warning, they were burdening people on the attraction,” she said. At that moment, I said to myself, “Yeah, I don’t feel comfortable being struck by lightning or anything like that.”
“Oh my God, they’re just stuck in this.”
The cart full of riders was quickly stopped as soon as he left the covered area, she said, but the riders could not get off at that moment.
Richie then hurried to the gift shop near the train exit to take shelter as the rain began to pour down.
“Oh my God, they’re just stuck in it,” Richie is heard saying in the video. “It simply came to our notice then.
“It’s like my worst nightmare scenario,” she told CBC News.
“They seemed to be screaming,” she said. “You could see it, but you couldn’t hear it because the wind and the rain were so strong.”
Lynn Richie was visiting the Canadian Wonderland in Vaughan, Ont. on Saturday, when a powerful storm tore through the amusement park, leaving some trapped during rides while others like Richie rushed for shelter. (CBC)
The videos, combined in Richie’s video, which were shot within minutes of each other, show the park as the weather quickly deteriorates from dark clouds to strong winds and rain.
Ritchie said she and others took refuge in the gift shop as they watched the trees sway back and forth and the Behemoth riders sit trapped there.
Staff work “as fast and safe as possible”
In a statement to CBC News, the Canadian Wonderland said the riding team “began closing the rides due to a sudden, strong thunderstorm approaching the park” at approximately 12:40 p.m. on Saturday.
“Shortly afterwards, there was a power outage and several trips, including the Behemoth train, stopped with guests on board,” Grace Peacock said in a statement Wednesday.
Peacock said staff had worked to evacuate guests “as quickly and safely as possible.”
Behemoth guests were evacuated about 30 minutes later, but no one was injured, she added.
According to Wonderland’s safety procedures, trips are not made when there is lightning or bad weather nearby.
“The park has a lightning detection system that tells us when lightning is within eight kilometers, 13 kilometers and 15 kilometers from the park,” Peacock said. “Aviators are arranged to be excluded according to this information, based on their height and dynamics.”
Richie said that as soon as the riders were evacuated and allowed to get off the train, other visitors to the gift shop rushed to offer them clothes or shoes because many of them were dressed for the warm weather.
“I couldn’t even imagine how they felt up there,” Richie said. – I could not.
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