BEIJING: Angry parents forced theme park operators in China to halt a rollercoaster part-way through the ride after discovering their rebellious daughter had sneaked onto the attraction without permission, mainland media reported.

Dozens of people were left stranded in their seats on Monday afternoon when the rollercoaster came to a premature standstill at Queershan Park, in Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, the news portal 163.com reported.

Many people thought the disruption had been caused by an equipment malfunction, but officials admitted that the ride had been halted by the angry parents of a 14-year-old girl.

The ride began running again after about 20 minutes once all the passengers had been evacuated. Photo: Handout.

The couple had entered the ride’s control centre and demanded that the rollercoaster be stopped immediately so their daughter could be escorted from the ride, the report said.

They told staff they became worried when they discovered the girl had sneaked onto the ride even though they had forbidden her from doing so.

All the passengers on the ride were evacuated safely from the rollercoaster, and the attraction began running again as normal after about 20 minutes.

The report did not mention whether the parents would face any punishment. – South China Morning Post