Six Flags Roaring Rapids ride malfunctions, forcing guests to jump into the water

A video has captured theme park guests leaping into the water at Six Flags Over Texas following a malfunction on its Roaring Rapids ride, drawing shouts and gasps from onlookers. 

The incident, which has since gone viral after being posted on TikTok, happened this week after “one of the rafts at Roaring Rapids became stuck” and “guests were told to remain seated in the raft while the ride was restarted,” a Six Flags spokesperson told WFAA. 

The footage begins with five of the rafts shown bunched together in one section of the ride in Arlington, Texas. The current of the water ride then appears to reverse, and multiple people are seen jumping into the water in hopes of exiting their raft.  

They all make it to solid ground, but a young child that dived off the raft and appeared to be struggling to swim against the current had to be helped to safety by another rider.  

“Get the kid!” a person is heard shouting in the video. “Alright, this ride is going to be shut down for a while.” 

The Six Flags spokesperson said to WFAA that “all guests safely exited the ride and there were no injuries.” 

Each raft on the ride can hold up to a dozen people, according to Six Flags’ website. 

“Strap on your vests and step into this wobbly whitewater raft for a (playfully) treacherous passage downriver! Don’t be surprised if your veering vessel is overtaken by raging waves of water. Oops, did we say water? We meant fun!” a description of the ride says. 

“Nothing cools you down in the middle of a hot Texas afternoon quite like buckets of cold river water roaring down your back! Which one of you will get drenched the most??” it adds. 

In 1999, a 28-year-old Arkansas woman drowned, and 10 others were injured after a boat overturned on the same ride in about 2–3 feet of water, according to WFAA.