19 people including six children had to be rescued from a fairground yesterday evening after it stopped working – while they were 65ft above London’s South Bank.
Firefighters were called to the scene but the rescue was slow and it took them three hours to free all involved.
Explaining the reason it took so long, London Firebrigade Station Manager Clive Robinson said: “[We] needed to access each cage on the ride individually and ensure they were secure before we move them from the ride onto our platform and bring them back down to the ground.”
Read about how crews rescued 19 people from a ride on the #Southbank last nighthttps://t.co/ULmZ2sl8nf pic.twitter.com/3i1CV3Pq29
— London Fire Brigade (@LondonFire) August 1, 2016
It is not known why the Starflyer ride stopped working, but thankfully no one was injured and everyone involved was “very calm”, according to the BBC.
Explaining how the rescue took place, Clive Robinson said: “Crews used an aerial ladder platform which is a bit like a cherry picker to reach the people and bring them back down.”
"While everyone was very relieved to be back on the ground, everyone was very calm."
It is not known why the ride got stuck but a spokeswoman for the Health and Safety Executive said they were “making inquiries."
