A rollercoaster that was sent plummeting into the ocean in the wrath of a superstorm became a symbol of the immense destruction served up along the coast.

The Star Jet ride remained mostly intact when the Casino Pier beneath it crumbled into the Atlantic as Hurricane Sandy unleashed havoc in New Jersey in 2012. It wasn't until six months later, in May 2013 that it was finally torn down and removed from the water, not long afterPrince Harry had visited the stricken area.

Dramatic pictures showed the scale of the operation as tons of twisted metal were demolished and plucked from the sea by a giant crane on board a tug. Some emblematic images of the coaster standing amid the surf were even used to sell memorabilia to raise money for storm victims and the families of the 233 people killed by the Category 3 event that hit eight countries from the Caribbean to Canada.

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Crews worked around the clock to remove the imposing structure over the course of a few days. The ride had only opened in 2002 and had replaced the previous ride, Jet Star.

There were even talks of replacing it with a new thrill ride for Casino Pier, to be provocatively named Superstorm.

"We hope that it’s perceived in a positive way, that we’re back, we know the force of Mother Nature, and that we respect that, and this is our way of celebrating it," Seaside Heights Mayor Bill Akers had said at the time.

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But instead, Star Jet's replacement coaster was named Hydrus when it opened in 2017. It was built on the beach instead of the pier to protect it from future storms.

The owners of the pier said Hydrus references the constellation of the same name much like the Star Jet and Jet Star before it.

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