Alton Towers: Four rides shut and passengers evacuated amid power cuts

Dozens of people have been evacuated from a rollercoaster at Alton Towers after a power cut caused the ride to stop midway.

Passengers on the Th13teen were helped to safety at the theme park in Staffordshire on Friday afternoon.

At least three other rides also experienced technical problems including Sonic Spinball, Oblivion and Rita.

They were temporarily shut at various points throughout the day.

A spokesperson for Alton Towers says no one was injured and apologised.

Joel Hinchcliffe, who's at the park, told Newsbeat: "It's frustrating. They charge 50 pounds a ticket and literally a handful of the main attractions aren't in working order.

"How can they justify charging people that amount of money? It's a bit of joke."

Joel Hincliffe tweeted: Oblivion stuck #altontowers #oblivion why are all the rides getting stuck??

Another Alton Tower visitor tweeted: "Just queued for an hour in the blazing sun to get on Rita, finally at the front and am told the ride has broken down.

"Aimlessly wandering around trying to find a ride that isn't closed"

She added: "Closed: Rita, Oblivion, Thirteen, spinball, Nemesis Sub Terra, Ripsaw, Enterprise, as well as obviously Smiler."

The Th13teen is billed as the world's first vertical freefall drop rollercoaster, with a top speed of 26mph.

One of its carriages halted on an incline so guests were put into safety harnesses as a precaution as they were removed.

Visitors at the park say a ride attendant handed out bottles of water to guests trapped on board.

"Following a temporary loss of power at Th13teen, guests were taken off the ride," Alton Towers said in a statement.

"Alton Towers Resort staff followed the established procedure to ensure everyone was helped off safely."

All visitors at the park will have their tickets revalidated for Saturday.

Earlier this week, four people were taken to Alton Towers' medical centre as a precaution after a shunt on the Sonic Spinball attraction.

Theme park officials say two cars on the ride "nudged each other at walking pace" on Tuesday.

The park also issued an apology after it took up to an hour to evacuate about 80 people when the site's monorail broke down on Wednesday - the hottest day of the year.

It is four weeks since a carriage on the Smiler roller coaster ride crashed into another empty car, seriously injuring five people.

Two of the injured have since undergone leg amputations.

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