A mechanical issue with a chain on one of Movie World's roller-coasters left more 20 people stranded above the ground on Wednesday.

Queensland Fire and Emergency services and paramedics were called to the Gold Coast theme park just before 12pm AEST to reports of about 20 people dangling in their seats on the Arkham Asylum Coaster.

By 1.20pm all 20* patrons, with ages ranging from 10 to 50, were evacuated with the aid of fire crews and theme park staff.

Sixteen people were evacuated via the external stairs beside the ride as per the theme park's normal evacuation procedure while four were rescued by fire crews, two via a cherry picker and two via vertical rescue with ropes.