FL Firefighters Rescue Ferris Wheel Riders Stranded for Hours

Nov. 20, 2020

Panama City Beach and South Walton firefighters used a crane to rescue six people who were trapped more than 180 feet in air when a power outage caused the SkyWheel ride to stop working.

Source Firehouse.com News

Firefighters rescued six passengers who were stranded for several hours more than 180 feet in the air when the SkyWheel ride at Pier Park in Panama City Beach, FL, stopped working following a power outage late Thursday.

Florida firefighters used a crane and needed multiple trips to rescue passengers stranded atop a Ferris wheel for several hours overnight.

The SkyWheel at Pier Park in Panama City Beach stopped working at around 7:30 p.m. Thursday, WJHG-TV reports. The loss of power happened as the ride's boxcar, which was carrying six people, was more than 180 feet in the air.

When the operators couldn't get the SkyWheel back working again, the Panama City Beach Fire Department called for a crane. They also received assistance from the South Walton Fire District, which trains for high angle rescues.

Once the crane was set up, firefighters devised a plan to take two people down at a time with each trip. Rescuers, however, found that winds were gusting between 15 mph to 20 mph at the top of crane.

”We thought we were going to have a fairly simple rescue," Panama City Beach Fire Department Deputy Chief Justin Busch told WJGH. "(The wind) added a little complexity in trying to maneuver the cart to get access to those folks, but we were successfully able to put a rescuer on top."

Six hours were needed for the rescue, and everyone was safely off the ride by 1 a.m. Friday. No injuries were reported in the incident.

The cause of the SkyWheel's malfunction is under investigation.