60+ Riders Rescued From Ferris Wheel At Same Amusement Park Where Teen Lost His Life

Over 60 people spent their New Year’s Eve being rescued from a ferris wheel in Orlando.

Videos by Rare

The Wheel at ICON Park lost power on Saturday evening, temporarily stranding passengers in the 400-foot-tall observation wheel. Local rescue workers were called to the scene and were able to evacuate everyone safely.

“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,” the OC Fire and Rescue team tweeted. “All rescue climbers on duty responded to the scene, with additional off duty rescue climbers also responding to assist if needed.”

Officials said that people were stranded on the ride for upwards of “hours” during the evacuation process.

ICON Park released a statement confirming that. It read, in part, “All guests in The Wheel have safely disembarked after the attraction lost power Saturday night.”

Passengers and bystanders were all streaming the experience. The videos have been uploaded to most social media and covered by local news.

The images below may be disturbing to some viewers.

The Wheel opened in 2015 and is advertised as an 18-minute experience that features “air-conditioning and stability control.” It also boasts a beautiful view from the top.

ICON has not issued further comment about what caused the power outage.

This is the second incident at ICON this year.

ICON was on the news earlier this year after Tyre Sampson died March 24. The 14-year-old perished while attempting to ride the Orlando FreeFall.

At the point of operation, the FreeFall made the claim of being the tallest freestanding drop tower. Like The Wheel is claimed a 400 foot view of the Orlando area. The thrillride would drop riders at 75 miles per hour after being harnessed in.

That incident was also caught on camera and became national news. CNN obtained autopsy reports that stated the victim was nearly 100 pounds over the recommended weight for the system. Sampson was listed at 383 pounds with the limitations set for 287.

CNN also reported that Quest Engineering & Failure Analysis Inc. determined there were manual adjustments made to two seats on the drop tower ride — including the seat occupied by Sampson. The report concluded that the adjustment allowed for a greater gap than normal between the harness and the seat.

“The cause of the subject accident was that Tyre Sampson was not properly secured in the seat primarily due to mis-adjustment of the harness proximity sensor,” it read.

The report added that there were many other “potential contributions.” It has been announced that ICON and the ride operator, Orlando Slingshot, will permanently close – and remove – the FreeFall.

“We are devastated by Tyre’s death,” Slingshot rep Robbie Armstrong said at the time. “We have listened to the wishes of Tyre’s family and the community, and have made the decision to take down the FreeFall.”

The Wheel is still ‘closed for maintenance’ with no official timetable to re-open. ICON Park is about 20 minutes from Disney World.

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