LAS VEGAS (AP) — A casino thrill ride resumed operating Friday after re-inspections were ordered when a girl and a woman were left stranded high above the Las Vegas Strip.
City officials gave the Stratosphere hotel-casino approval to restart the "Insanity" ride after receiving letters attesting to its safety from casino management, the ride builder and an independent inspector, city spokesman David Riggleman said.
The ride, built by Interactive Rides of Logan, Utah, extends a curved arm from a tower platform and spins up to 10 passengers on seats suspended at the end of mechanical fingers. It was previously inspected before beginning operations March 10, Riggleman said.
City officials asked the hotel to idle the ride Thursday after a girls, 11, and a woman, 19, were left suspended about 900 feet above Las Vegas Boulevard for more than an hour early Wednesday morning. They were rescued when ride technicians pulled the arm back to the platform about 2 a.m.
Hotel officials said the ride went into "pause mode," as designed, after winds were clocked at 55 mph atop the Stratosphere tower. The 1,100-foot-tall structure resembles the Space Needle in Seattle and has four thrill rides near the top. It is the tallest structure west of the Mississippi River.