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Terrifying malfunction on SeaWorld electric eel rollercoaster left girl, 10, fearing she'd plummet to her death
A mother has revealed how a day at Seaworld with her daughter turned into a nightmare after the girl's safety belt came loose on a high-speed rollercoaster.
Salina Higgins, from Tucson, Arizona, was visiting SeaWorld San Diego with her 10-year-old daughter and niece on Tuesday when the heart-stopping incident occurred on the park's Electric Eel ride.
Higgings claimed her daughter started screaming as they hung upside down in mid-air when her loose strap was dangling in front of her eyes. Her mom held on to her for 'dear life' until the ride ended.
'I happened to open my eyes, and my daughter started screaming because her strap was - they call it a comfort strap - was dangling in front of her face as we hung upside down,' Higgins told WRAL. 'So I then grabbed the strap, secured it and held onto it for dear life, and we both were screaming until the ride was over.'
Footage of the ride was captured by Higgins' niece who was watching from the ground.
Salina Higgins, from Tucson, Arizona, was visiting SeaWorld San Diego with her 10-year-old daughter and niece on Tuesday when the heart-stopping incident occurred on the park's Electric Eel ride
Higgins said SeaWorld staff were dismissive of her harrowing experience
Higgins said SeaWorld staff were dismissive of her harrowing experience.
When she reported the incident to an attendant, she claims she was met with a minimal apology before more people were quickly loaded onto the ride.
Higgins then approached guest services, where she says a manager's response left her stunned. 'He asked me, did you read the disclaimer before getting on the ride?' Higgins told the outlet.
'And shockingly, I said, does the disclaimer explain that the comfort straps are optional, because if it does then please I have no case here.'
'He then laughed and said 'I don't think so.' So then I said to my 10 and 14-year-old children to run at 10 o'clock at night to go take a picture of this disclaimer.'
When she reported the incident to an attendant, she claims she was met with a minimal apology before more people were quickly loaded onto the ride. They are pictured on the ride
The disclaimer, which Higgins had her daughter photograph, reads, 'Hold on tight and remain seated with the comfort collar secured at all times during the ride'
The disclaimer, which Higgins had her daughter photograph, reads, 'Hold on tight and remain seated with the comfort collar secured at all times during the ride.'
The representative then threatened to call security to have Higgins and her family removed from the park, she alleged.
'When I showed him that he threw his hands in the air and said I could call the number found on the website and had security escort us off the property,' Higgins said.
'Yeah, I am now advocating for all the other people now commenting on this post,' Higgins said. 'This has become something bigger.'
DailyMail.com reached out to SeaWorld for comment.
Higgins' TikTok video has amassed six million views and attracted mixed reactions from commenters.
One viewer said: 'Terrible customer service! What ever happened to respect and treating customers kindly. They should have instantly shut the ride down and done test runs before letting others on. Life matters! Scary!'
While Higgins' TikTok video about the incident quickly went viral, viewer reactions were mixed
Higgins with her daughter and niece at SeaWorld
But another wrote: 'Money grab. Maybe you'll get a few bucks out of them just so you'll shut up already. Stop exaggerating actual danger daughter was in.'
A third user wrote, 'I mean this in the best way, but what exactly were you hoping they would do about it?'
Higgins said she's emailed more than 100 SeaWorld and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) contacts trying to get help and then made a TikTok post that went viral.