Visitors to Efteling were stuck in the Python on Christmas Day. That was due to a malfunction. They waited in the rain and wind for an hour until they were helped off the roller coaster by emergency workers.
The visitors were guided down the stairs. “Fortunately, the carts were not full,” says an Efteling spokesperson. “But it’s very annoying that it took so long.” The outage happened around 6 p.m. Just after seven o’clock, visitors were removed from the carts.
The reason for this lies in the bad weather. Due to the strong wind it was not safe enough to get the people out immediately. “It was not a special malfunction,” the spokesperson explained. “These happen more often. A standard procedure then comes into effect, but unfortunately due to the rain and especially the wind, it took longer before everyone could be removed.”
Just out of the starting blocks
The roller coaster had just left the starting blocks, so no one was sitting very high or upside down. “Luckily they were still in the lower part,” says the spokesperson. It is not known exactly how many people were in the carts. No one was injured. Once the visitors had been removed from the attraction, everyone could continue on their way again.
The attraction was open again around a quarter past seven in the evening. Whether the Python will open again on Boxing Day depends on the weather. “We check every morning and evening whether the attractions are running smoothly. But whether they actually open also depends on the weather.” Strong winds in particular can be dangerous at high attractions such as the Python, so we will have to wait and see tomorrow. “Safety comes first,” said the spokesperson.