A group of 26 riders at Happy Valley Amusement Park in Beijing were left hanging upside down for 20 minutes after the Crystal Heavenly Wing rollercoaster came to an abrupt halt.

Suspended 30 meters in the air, the riders were eventually rescued by park employees. Other than a few frights, no one was seriously injured.

Happy Valley released an official statement explaining that automatic safety measures, believed to have been activated by an errant bird, brought the ride to a standstill. The park confirmed that the ride promptly went back into operation following a security check.

While initial reports claim the rollercoaster riders were offered refunds, recent reports suggest otherwise. One of the riders interviewed by CCTV, identified as “Xiaolu”, said Happy Valley refused to offer ticket refunds:

Once we all came down (from the rollercoaster), they immediately made us leave without even offering an apology.

According to Xiaolu, being left hanging upside down was terrifying:

It was so high and we were all facing downward, and our legs were hanging freely. (We) didn’t dare make a move due to the way the safety belts (were designed). (We) were scared that with the slightest movement, the safety belts would come loose.

Xiaolu described being rescued as even more dangerous:

The way the situation was resolved was to have us climb down a ladder. Nobody helped us get down… My legs at the time were so bad that I could hardly climb down.

Although Happy Valley hasn’t seen many accidents before, a water ride which malfunction in 2013, stranded 20 park visitors ten meters off the ground for ten minutes.

Last Labor Day, two people were killed when five people fell off a ride at an amusement park in Zhejiang. The month before, 19 people were injured when an amusement ride at a temple fair broke in half. And last September, a mother and son riding an “Octopus” ride in Wuhan were injured when they were flung off while riding it.