Dozens of people were rescued from seats hanging over animal habitats after an aerial ride at the Southwick’s Zoo in Mendon, Massachusetts, became stuck Friday afternoon. The incident happened at the zoo’s Skyfari ride, which operates similar to how a mountain chairlift does for skiers and snowboarders. The chair lift operates in a triangle shape, giving riders an aerial view of exhibits and animals across the sprawling property. Video from Sky 5 showed multiple cherry picker lifts entering the park to rescue people who were stuck on the chairlifts. Sky 5 captured two people being rescued using a firetruck ladder. Mendown town fire chief Bill Kessler said when first responders arrived at the scene, they found 19 people in a total of eight chairs.”Fortunately, not every chair car was full,” Kessler said. “So that helped as well.””The initial person on scene previously worked for a ski resort and had done rescues as well,” Kessler said. “When it goes through trees, which is great for the customers of Southwick’s Zoo, it makes rescuing them a little bit tougher,” Kessler said. “Especially with some of the animal enclosures.”Kessler said the zookeepers tried to clear a couple of the animal areas. “They weren’t able to on some, but in conjunction with the rescue personnel and the zoo personnel, we were able to get access to them,” Kessler said.Seven-year-old Sebastian was among the dozens of people on the charlifts, visiting Southwick’s Zoo with his grandparents.”It was crazy,” Sebastian said. “I’ve never been on a ride that was, like broken. I was really, like, confident, but I tried to be not scared. I was really good at that!””You were good,” his grandparents said, hugging him following the rescue. People were throwing water p to the people stuck on the ride to keep them hydrated because of the hot, humid conditions. Temperatures at the time were in the mid-80s.The owners of Southwick’s Zoo said that workers detected an oil leak in the machinery and shut it down as a precaution.The machinery is inspected every year. The zoo said they’ve never had a problem like this before, but wanted to be cautious after discovering the issue. “See the zoo from above on our Skyfari Sky Ride,” the zoo’s website says about the ride. “You’ll get a bird’s eye view of the African Plains, Deer Forest, chimpanzees, alligators, and more!”The Skyfari Sky Ride chair can seat up to two adults, two adults with one small child or two children with one adult.
Dozens of people were rescued from seats hanging over animal habitats after an aerial ride at the Southwick’s Zoo in Mendon, Massachusetts, became stuck Friday afternoon.
The incident happened at the zoo’s Skyfari ride, which operates similar to how a mountain chairlift does for skiers and snowboarders.
The chair lift operates in a triangle shape, giving riders an aerial view of exhibits and animals across the sprawling property.
Video from Sky 5 showed multiple cherry picker lifts entering the park to rescue people who were stuck on the chairlifts.
Sky 5 captured two people being rescued using a firetruck ladder.
Mendown town fire chief Bill Kessler said when first responders arrived at the scene, they
found 19 people in a total of eight chairs.
“Fortunately, not every chair car was full,” Kessler said. “So that helped as well.”
“The initial person on scene previously worked for a ski resort and had done rescues as well,” Kessler said.
“When it goes through trees, which is great for the customers of Southwick’s Zoo, it makes rescuing them a little bit tougher,” Kessler said. “Especially with some of the animal enclosures.”
Kessler said the zookeepers tried to clear a couple of the animal areas. “They weren’t able to on some, but in conjunction with the rescue personnel and the zoo personnel, we were able to get access to them,” Kessler said.
Seven-year-old Sebastian was among the dozens of people on the charlifts, visiting Southwick’s Zoo with his grandparents.
“It was crazy,” Sebastian said. “I’ve never been on a ride that was, like broken. I was really, like, confident, but I tried to be not scared. I was really good at that!”
“You were good,” his grandparents said, hugging him following the rescue.
People were throwing water p to the people stuck on the ride to keep them hydrated because of the hot, humid conditions. Temperatures at the time were in the mid-80s.
The owners of Southwick’s Zoo said that workers detected an oil leak in the machinery and shut it down as a precaution.
The machinery is inspected every year. The zoo said they’ve never had a problem like this before, but wanted to be cautious after discovering the issue.
“See the zoo from above on our Skyfari Sky Ride,” the zoo’s website says about the ride. “You’ll get a bird’s eye view of the African Plains, Deer Forest, chimpanzees, alligators, and more!”
The Skyfari Sky Ride chair can seat up to two adults, two adults with one small child or two children with one adult.
