TWO young children were among those who were trapped inside Chester’s 33 metre high big wheel for more than 30 minutes after an electrical failure.
A total of six people had to be rescued from the Christmas wheel in Princess Street after staff were unable to switch the machine back on.
Emergency crews raced to the scene after the wheel became ‘jammed’ and a mechanism which automatically lowers carriages carrying people to the ground ceased to work.
Two fire engines and a hydraulic platform were called to the incident while ambulance teams were put on standby.
The wheel was on its final day of operation in Chester and the 40-minute rescue operation saw firefighters manually lower the passengers to safety. There were no injuries.
Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesman Chris Blackham said: “The hydraulic platform was not required in the end because it was a manual rescue. The wheel is self-releasing so people’s weight makes it tilt and it lets people off.
“At one stage it looks like firefighters did have to intervene by pulling the wheel when it became stuck.
“However, everyone was able to step off safely and we did not have to do any high rescues.”
Jan de-Koning, of De Koning Themes, which operates the wheel, said: “The incident was due to an electrical fault. The switch had gone and the staff were trying to rectify the problem. The wheel was stuck in a certain position. The people were on there for 30 to 40 minutes.
“By that time a concerned member of the public who was with one of the trapped riders called the fire brigade. They arrived and they emptied the two carriages, four people in one, two people in the other.
“At no time was anyone in any danger.”
He added: “We’ve run that wheel for 12 years. That is the first time anything like that has happened.
“We do have emergency procedures, it all went exactly as it should under those circumstances.”
The incident occurred at about 4.30pm on Monday. The big wheel had made a return to the city this Christmas after safety inspectors gave it the all-clear.