3 people rescued from a bungee ride at Ventura County Fair

Crews were called to rescue three people,one of them found hanging upside down, who were stuck on a bungee jump ride at the Ventura County Fair on Wednesday night, authorities said.

The incident was reported at 7:55 p.m. at the fairgrounds on Harbor Boulevard, and crews on the scene with the city of Ventura Fire Department were reportedly accessing the area from Garden Street. The nearby railroad tracks were shut down as crews worked.

The person on the ride who was found upside was about 30 feet in the air and had reportedly been in that position for at least 20 minutes. The person did not appear to be in medical distress, officials said.

A witness described the upside-down person as a man and he was hanging halfway between the ground and the platform from where he jumped. He appeared to be doing crunches as he waited, the witness stated.

Officials said they used an aerial ladder to get the man back on the ground. The witness said it took crews a while to undo his legs from the ankle straps. He was reported safe on the ground just before 8:30 p.m. and was being checked out by medical personnel, authorities said.

Meanwhile, two additional people were stuck in the bungee cage and also needed to be rescued. Officials said they were not injured and the witness stated it appeared the pair were working to operate the ride. At 8:55 p.m., crews were sending up a rope to get the bungee workers down.

One of them had slid down the rope to safety by 9:14 p.m. and the second worker soon followed.

Firefighters were gesturing to helicopters that were circling the fair.

The witness said the fair band stopped while the man was rescued but resumed playing when he was safe.

Trains on the nearby tracks had to be stopped during the rescue.