Dozens of people were rescued from a ride at Orlando’s ICON Park Saturday evening after a power failure, Orange County Fire Rescue reported.
The department said crews responded to reports of a power failure at the Orlando Wheel around 6:20 p.m. There were 20 occupied pods on the Ferris wheel when it lost power, trapping 62 people on the ride.
Pictures and videos on social media showed a small fire at the base of the ride, which is what caused it to malfunction and lose power.
Orange County Fire Rescue Public Information Officer Ashley Gipson said over 80 firefighters responded to the park. In order to rescue the riders, they had to manually maneuver the wheel to reach each pod.
ORLANDO AMUSEMENT PARK SUSPENDS RIDE WHERE CUSTOMERS SHOOT TARGETS WHILE PERCHED WITH LASER GUNS
Firefighters responded to Orlando’s ICON Park to rescue 62 riders stuck on the Ferris wheel after it lost power on New Year’s Eve.
(momandpaparazzi.com)
At 10:43 p.m., OCFR confirmed on Twitter all pods were clear, and all 62 riders were safe. There were no injuries reported or hospital transports required, Gipson said.
All the department’s rescue climbers on duty responded to the theme park to assist with the evacuations. Additional off-duty climbers also showed up at the park, Orange County Fire Rescue said on Twitter.
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According to the theme park’s website, the Orlando Wheel is 400-feet tall, and it takes 18 minutes to complete the ride. It opened in 2015 after three years of construction.
In a statement to Fox 35 Orlando, ICON Park confirmed the Wheel lost power and park officials were working with first responders to evacuate the riders.
Orange County Fire Rescue crews manually turn the Ferris wheel at ICON Park to rescue riders after a power failure.
(Orange County Fire Rescue)
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In March 2022, ICON Park experienced tragedy when 14-year-old Tyre Sampson fell to his death from the Orlando Freefall, a drop tower ride at the park. Sampson was visiting the city on spring break with another family from St. Louis, Missouri.
The ride was closed immediately after Sampson’s death and was permanently shut down in October.
