Twenty theme park visitors had to be rescued after a roller coaster broke down 100ft off the ground.

The "Gravity Max" ride at the Taichung Libao Paradise attraction had technical problems and stopped mid-ride on July 12.

Terrified guests were left stranded and dangling precariously in the air while screaming ''it's stuck''.

Park director Wang Yung-hao said the ride's safety sensors went haywire and accidentally turned off an electronic switch.

He said: "As part of standard operating procedure, passengers are notified that the ride could come to a sudden stop if a safety mechanism is triggered, in which case it will be switched to manual mode and they will be escorted off the ride."

Officials said the movable section of the ride - which claims to be the world's only tilt roller coaster - normally flips from horizontal to vertical when the carriage reaches the top then free falls straight down.

However, this time the ride became stuck midway before completely switching to vertical mode.

Staff switched to manual mode and placed the carriage into a horizontal position. All 20 rider passengers were safely removed via an emergency passage by park staff. There were no injuries reported from ride failure.

Meanwhile, Taichung Urban Development Bureau said they regularly do inspection and spot checks of the rides in the park.

It said: "The park has promised us that it would cooperate with the Tourism Bureau on an on-site inspection to evaluate the maintenance status of the equipment."