Does a ride on a magic carpet sound like a dream come true?
Passengers on the Magic Carpet Ride at the National Cherry Tree festival in Traverse City, Michigan, certainly don't think so.
The pendulum like ride ismeant to lift its passengers up and down in the air in a rotating motion. But at around 11pm on the night of Thursday, July 9, about 10 or so unlucky passengers were almost literally swept away.
The ride was suddenly uprooted from its platform, causing it to sway back and forth.
The harrowing experience was captured by multiple bystanders.
This angle is much, much worse! Wowpic.twitter.com/2cEJK3h0ee— philip lewis (@philip lewis) 1625881553
Luckily, one eagle eyed fair goer saw this happening, and bravely put his own safety at risk in an attempt to hold the ride steady.
In a truly heartwarming turn of events, he was soon joined by roughly a dozen others in coming to the rescue of the terrified passengers.
Crowd stabilizes out-of-control carnival ride at Michigan fair - VIDEO\n#Heroes #MagicCarpetRide #MichiganFair #OutOfControlAmusementRide #PendulumRide\nhttps://bit.ly/2UD4RNC\u00a0pic.twitter.com/90Rq2VuIGf— Barrie 360 (@Barrie 360) 1626087691
This ride at the Cherry Festival in Traverse City was about to tip over until bystanders stepped in and saved the day.https://twitter.com/chadblue83/status/1413684558780895235\u00a0\u2026— Chad (@Chad) 1625883879
The fact that I\u2019ve been on that ride at the cherry festival many many times https://twitter.com/coastersnbrews/status/1413484477104496640\u00a0\u2026— kari (@kari) 1625840420
Kat Paye, executive director of the festival, told CBS News all the ride's passengers were safely disembarked and thankfully no injuries were sustained.
Many took to Twitter to commend the individuals who came together to stop the ride from toppling over.
Shout out to the first person to step up!— Summer's Love (@Summer's Love) 1625876490
I can call this a real collabration!— mutlu (@mutlu) 1625861654
That first guy that went to hold it by himself....— randy random (@randy random) 1625862758
I love when humans come together and do ish like this. \n\nAlso\u2026\n\nNow y\u2019all understand you take your chances with parking lot amusement parks\u2026kinda like gas station sushi— \ud83c\udf0aMelissa_In_DC\ud83c\udf0a (@\ud83c\udf0aMelissa_In_DC\ud83c\udf0a) 1625878084
Nice to see some Americans still have compassion for complete strangers— Willie B (@Willie B) 1625880607
Paye also told CBS news the ride was disassembled and sent back to its manufacturer for inspection.
"Inspections of the rides happen daily and written reports are filled out and completed on each ride every morning prior to operation."
"I am grateful for the quick response of staff and community members and very thankful that there were no injuries".
While attendees at the festival certainly got more than they bargained for, one can hope all those who witnessed this, be it in person or on video, will have a newfound faith in human kindness and become inspired to help one another.
