I can't really tell if the people who fell were park employees or not. I'm pretty sure they got thrown out of the manlift and not the ride. I just wonder if they were getting people down or just talking to the people to calm them down and got too close.
I just wonder how long the ride was stopped in the air. Most places wouldn't even consider getting people down until they were in some kind of danger, lightning, extreme heat, medical condition, etc. It would be interesting to see a little more at the beginning of the clip to see what was actually going on instead of just the incident.
They unloaded people with a cherry picker from the drop tower at Castles n' Coasters in Phoenix last year when it got stuck mid tower. Looks like they were doing the same here just forgot to cut the power incase the power returned. What a horrible sight, as I'm sure it was horrible for everyone to witness. May their recovery be quick and as painless as possible. :(
I have a friend who speaks Japanese and translated what the reporter said, he said: "4 deaths" "6 injuries" "unconfirmed reports of foul play reported"
I had the same line of thinking as you Xander, but then I remembered many "vertical" rides slowly return to their home position when the e-stop is pressed.
And come to think of it, who was the moron on the cherry picker not using a fall protection line?!