HOLLYWOOD—On Thursday, June 10 at approximately 7:42 p.m., a reported 85-foot Ferris wheel suddenly malfunctioned leaving three adults and seven children stranded in mid-air before the LAFD were able to rescue the riders to safety.
Technically speaking, the incident took place on the athletic field at Hollywood High School, and according to LAFD reports, the amusement ride is only temporary and happens to be one constituent part of Disney’s new “Toy Story 3” Fun Park attraction located across from the El Capitan Theatre.
Upon rescue, firefighters were able to use and reposition a long extension ladder in a “crane-like fashion,” as reported by LAFD Spokesman Brian Humphrey, and scaling at 100-feet, they released each rider individually to an adjacent cargo trailer positioned on the park’s grounds until the repetitive operation was complete.
According to Disney spokesperson, Bob Gault, on the ride’s third rotation “an armature [which] holds the Ferris wheel in place,” had split. Shortly after noticing the accident, the ride operator then terminated the machine’s power sending it into an ultimate halt.
The armature was “not a critical part of the Ferris wheel. The ride was still very sound and the buckets were still in place,” Gault concluded.
As a result, however, “The calm and orderly effort took more than two hours, [yet] occurred without physical injury,” reported Humphrey.
Visit http://lafd.blogspot.com to receive up-to-date LAFD news and information on other rescue stories such as this one.
