More than 60 people were rescued from a Ferris wheel at Orlando's ICON Park in the United States after a power failure caused a malfunction and a small fire at the base of the ride. The incident took place on Saturday evening. Videos and photos on social media showed huge sparks flying from one of the pods of the Ferris wheel ride as the incident was happening.
"It's on fire! Holy f****," a person could be heard yelling in the video shared on Twitter. "Multiple emergency units are on scene at Orlando icon park as multiple people are trapped at the Eye Ferris wheel after it lost power as electrical sparks can be seen sparking," the caption of the post read.
Watch the video below:
🚨#BREAKING: Multiple People Trapped on the Massive Farris wheel after it lost power
— Freedom Fighter (@RAF_Valerie) January 1, 2023
📌#Orlando | #FL
Multiple emergency units are on scene at Orlando icon Park as multiple people are trapped at the Eye ferris wheel after it lost power as electrical sparks can be seen sparking pic.twitter.com/sFZg1W5GMH
Taking to Twitter, Orange County Fire Rescue said they responded to the ICON park after receiving a power failure report. According to Fox 35, firefighters climbed up the 400-foot tall ride to rescue over 60 people trapped inside the attraction's pods.
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"More than 60 people have been safely rescued from more than 20 pods. All pods are now empty and units have cleared @iconparkorlando. Al rescue climbers on duty responded to the scene, with additional off duty rescue climbers also responding to assist if needed," OCFire Rescue said on Sunday.
Final Update: More than 60 people have been safely rescued from more than 20 pods. All pods are now empty and units have cleared @iconparkorlando. All rescue climbers on duty responded to the scene, with additional off duty rescue climbers also responding to assist if needed. https://t.co/1Bz7jrI1jV pic.twitter.com/PIXDD2pPLg
— OCFire Rescue (@OCFireRescue) January 1, 2023
As per Fox 35, it took hours to complete the rescue, as firefighters had to manually turn the ride to get people off. No one was injured during the incident, officials stated. In a statement, ICON Park said, "The Wheel lost power Saturday night and we're working with the Orange County Fire Department to safely evacuate guests."
According to the theme park's website, the Orlando Ferris Wheel is 400 feet tall. It takes 18 minutes to complete the ride. It opened in 2015 after three years of construction.
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