Eight students experienced a rollercoaster of emotions Thursday evening when their field trip nearly ended in disaster ... resulting in a daring rescue mission by first responders.

Check out the scene from Pleasure Pier in Galveston, Texas ... where firefighters went up in a fire engine's basket to wrench the eight individuals from the ride.

The two first responders busy themselves as the students sit and wait ... the only thing the trapped patrons could do for numerous hours.

The octet became trapped on the ride just around 5:20 PM local time ... and the last person wasn't successfully removed from the ride until 9 PM -- a harrowing experience which reportedly left the eight, "shaken up, visually," according to Galveston Fire Department Chief Mike Varela Jr.

All eight of the rescued rollercoaster riders were checked for dehydration, and it was determined they were all in good shape -- or as good as one can be after sitting close to 100 feet in the air all afternoon.

The eight riders rescued from the coaster were on a field trip organized by Energized for STEM Academy Middle School and STEM Academy High School.

As for what happened ... a rep for Landry's Inc. -- the company that owns Pleasure Pier -- said the ride malfunctioned and shut down as it's intended to do in such a situation.

Glad to see everyone's alright ... though these folks may not be looking to ride another coaster anytime soon.