Galveston roller coaster mishap: Iron Shark stuck mid-ride, all passengers rescued

Pleasure Pier roller-coaster stuck passengers have been rescued in Galveston, Texas safe and sound, after hours-long rescue operation on May 28, 2026.

Some of the passengers were stranded on the roller-coaster for over three hours.

The roller coaster on the pier has a 100-foot vertical lift hill.

The amusement park at Galveston Island had to be shut down following the incident.

According to the Galveston police, officials’ first emergency responders were called around 5:35 p.m. Thursday, May 28, where the Iron Shark roller coaster malfunctioned.

According to the officials, there were eight Houston STEM students who were stranded in the roller coaster.

To pull the riders down each at a time, the firefighters from the Galveston Fire Department used a tower truck.

The operation took over three hours to rescue all the stranded passengers.

The students were on a field trip on Thursday night when they got stuck on the roller coaster as per the Houston Independent School District, which told Houston-based outlet Fox 26.

At the time of writing, there has been no information available as to what caused the roller coaster to stop functioning.

However, the company COO issued a statement describing it as a “malfunction at its initial ascent.”

Terry Turney, COO of Pleasure Pier said, “The ride experienced a malfunction at its initial ascent. However, as designed.

He added, “A thorough inspection of the ride will take place before it is placed back in service.”