A total of 67 people, 17 of them minors, were rescued this Thursday afternoon from the Ferris wheel installed in the Alderdi Eder gardens, in San Sebastián, after spending, in some cases two and a half hours, in the cabins as a result of a breakdown in the attraction. According to sources from the City Council, the incident took place at seven in the afternoon on Thursday, a rush hour for the Ferris wheel, so many of the 24 cabins it consists of were occupied.
Those responsible for the Ferris wheel tried to fix the fault, but given the impossibility of solving the problem they called the San Sebastián firefighters. The firefighters decided to evacuate the people who were in the cabins, for which they had to use ladders to access those who were at heights.
At around 9:30 p.m. the evacuation of the people who remained on the Ferris wheel was completed, of which 55 were rescued by firefighters and 12 left on their own. No one was injured in the operation, although one person had to be treated for an anxiety attack although he did not need to be evacuated to any hospital, sources have explained.
Early this Friday, a technician from the company that owns the Ferris wheel arrived from Seville to find out the origin of the fault.
Those affected who were enjoying the views of the Ferris wheel looked perplexed by the situation they were experiencing. Fran, one of the trapped users, took the event with humor. "It felt like we were starring in a movie," he said with a laugh. Fran, who was spending a few days in San Sebastián for New Year's Eve, went on the attraction with three other people, including a seven-year-old girl.
Not so humorous was the experience of two parents from San Sebastian, who suffered because their five children were trapped in one of the lower cabins of the Ferris wheel. Asier, Ane, Igor, Unax and Esti were able to get down on their own and breathe a sigh of relief after the shock.
