These dramatic images show firefighters rescuing dozens of people, including six children, stuck 65ft in the air after a ride broke down on the South Bank yesterday.
Terrified tourists were left dangling on the Starflyer ride, part of the London Wonderground festival, for more than three hours after it suffered a "technical malfunction".
In the series of photos, posted on Instagram by user 'dannorthover', a boy can be seen nervously edging out of one of the ten pods and being guided onto a cherry-picker aerial platform.
The user later posted a snap taken from the ground, accompanied by the caption: "Finally back to earth. Thankyou @Londonfirebrigade for the #cherrypicker."
Ambulance staff were waiting on the ground to assess the 19 visibly shaken tourists, who were brought down one pod at a time, with some stepping off the platform in tears.
Police officers were also in attendance, creating a cordon to keep back the crowd of hundreds which gathered to watch the lofty rescue operation.
Sisters Naima, 10, Aaliya, 12, and Saalihah Kaaynaat, 14, were the last passengers to be rescued after being lifted down to safety with their father at 9.20pm, having boarded the ride at just before 6pm.
Saalihah told the Standard: “I knew something was wrong because when I was standing in the queue waiting to go on the ride I didn’t see it stop mid-air like that.
“At first everyone was taking pictures but when it didn’t start up again I began to get scared.
“To pass the time, my sisters and I started singing songs and dancing in our seats. Everyone cheered each time someone got rescued.
“Some people were crying even when they got off the ride. Children’s shoes fell off their feet.”
Her sister Aaliya added: “I thought the ride had stopped so we could see the view but we were sat there for hours.
“I was cold, hungry, scared and needed to go to the toilet.”
Read More
The ride, which costs £7.50 and has swinging pods around a 200ft high pillar, has been closed while an investigation into the incident is underway.
Owned by Mellors Group, it is the tallest mobile ride in the UK, and previously appeared at Hyde Park’s Winter Wonderland.
A spokeswoman for the Southbank Centre, which runs the Wonderground festival, said: “A fault occurred in the Starflyer ride at 5.30pm on Sunday evening.
“London Fire Brigade were called and arrived at 6pm. They worked methodically to get everyone safely off the ride by 8.45pm.
“Our first concern was for the safety and wellbeing of those trapped and now that everyone has been safely rescued we will work with the operators of the ride, Mellors Group, to establish the cause of the problem. The ride will remain closed for the time being.
“We are grateful to the London Fire Brigade for their assistance.”
