THIS is the horror moment hundreds of terrified tourists were left dangling on a 3,700ft mountain for at least an hour.
The thrillseekers were climbing a sheer rock face in China‘s Zhejiang Province but were left stranded when the line suddenly stopped moving.
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One climber posted a worried note and a video to a relative saying they had been stuck for an hour on the side of the cliff and nothing was moving.
It is not clear how high up they were, but the mountain is said to be 3,773ft high.
Managers at the Yandang Mountain rock climbing attraction in Wenzhou, said the back up was due to simply having too many people on the same route.
The number of tourists was unusually high because of the May Day holiday, which in China takes place from May 1 to May 5.
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Officials therefore ended up with significant delays, which was sorted by restricting the number of people that were allowed to join the queue.
The delays on Saturday were about one to two hours before the bottleneck was finally cleared.
Anyone in panic could abseil down with the help of a professional, but as it came at the cost of a rescue fee, many decided to stay.
The Yandang Mountain Scenic Area that managed the service explained the charge was due to many people not completing the track and asking to abseil down “because it was fun”.
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Fellow attraction managers, Wenzhou Dingcheng Sports Development Co., Ltd, said they underestimated the number of people interested in climbing the mountain.
The company said in a statement: “Due to our misjudgment of how many customers would come, the lack of effective traffic controls such as a ticket reservation system, and shortcomings in onsite management, customers were blocked and trapped on the climbing route.”
The firm also stated that it was temporarily suspending ticket sales while it dealt with the matter internally, and that it would soon implement a traffic-control system for guests.
Images of climbers hanging off the cliffside while waiting for others to advance went viral on Chinese social media platforms.
One user commented: “People who don’t have heart disease will develop heart disease.”
Another added: “This is very dangerous. If the plank road cannot bear the weight due to the large number of people, the consequences will be serious. Hope it attracts attention!”
While a third person replied: “The first one was probably so frightened that he refused to move on.”
Yandang Mountain, a popular tourist spot in China, was nominated in 2001 as a potential UNESCO World Heritage site and remains on the list.
It comes after a woman was wiped out on a theme park water ride after being flung out of a capsized raft.
Terrifying footage showed the thrillseeker screaming in panic as another boat hurtled towards her in China.
The chaotic scene first shows a woman clinging to an upturned raft and wrapping her arms round a small child.
An oncoming boat then thumps into the two, knocking them further down the glass passage.
Unable to stop themselves from being pushed along the waterside, the woman is seen cradling the child as she tries to hold onto the boat behind them.
Moments later, a second shrieking woman is shown trying to scramble to safety as she shuffles down the chute.
She then slips – almost falling over the low railings – and clings to a metal pole to stay on her feet.
But her efforts don’t last long as the woman is suddenly hit by a fresh tide of water, taking her legs out from underneath her.
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Two boats then slam into her before she is swept down the slide.
Fortunately, the passenger was saved at the next turn, reports claimed.
Source: Sun
