Times of IndiaGiant wheel stops, 25 stuck mid-air
7 Jul 2008, 0333 hrs IST,TNN
BANAGALORE: The huge giant wheel started rolling and within seconds, it stopped with three jerks. Over 25 people who were at a height of about 50 feet from the ground started looking downwards excitedly unaware of the fact that they would be suspended mid air for the next one and half hours. The inauguration of the amusement park at the National Consumer Fair in Puttenahalli, JP Nagar 6th phase on Sunday evening, turned into a panic evening when the giant wheel got stuck. The giant wheel has three drive wheels each on both the sides. It had taken just two cycles when one of the drive wheels got punctured. After three or four jerks, the giant wheel came to a screeching halt. Although the wheel was stuck at 6.30 pm, the fire services could arrive on the spot after more than an hour delay due to traffic diversion at the ring road-Puttenahalli junction. "But for the narrow lanes and traffic jams on the road, we could have reached there pretty early," said B G Chengappa, joint director of Fire Services. There was drama in the air as the fire personnel as well as the people on the ground and on the wheel had tense moments. "For a moment, there was panic and screaming. Later, there was a dead silence," said Gautham, one of the organizers. The entire rescue operation took 40 men from fire services and one and half hours. Initially, the fire personnel used their vehicle ladders to bring down the people, but it did not reach the upper carriages. Then they had to use the rope ladders to rescue the people on the top. Cheers rent the air when eight-year-old Raghavi (8), the first one to be brought down, reached the ground safely. She looked very poised and said that she was not scared while on the giant wheel. Mariam from Mumbai, who waited for over an hour for her daughter and granddaughter to be rescued, was too shocked to react. Though the fair opened four days ago, due to rain threat, the organizers decided to postpone the opening of amusement games to Sunday. "The incident took place at around 6.30 pm. We have safety ladders on either side of the wheel, but we did not want to take any chances and decided to call the fire tenders," Goutham said. Meanwhile, Chengappa said they would initiate a probe into the episode.
BANAGALORE: The huge giant wheel started rolling and within seconds, it stopped with three jerks. Over 25 people who were at a height of about 50 feet from the ground started looking downwards excitedly unaware of the fact that they would be suspended mid air for the next one and half hours. The inauguration of the amusement park at the National Consumer Fair in Puttenahalli, JP Nagar 6th phase on Sunday evening, turned into a panic evening when the giant wheel got stuck. The giant wheel has three drive wheels each on both the sides. It had taken just two cycles when one of the drive wheels got punctured. After three or four jerks, the giant wheel came to a screeching halt. Although the wheel was stuck at 6.30 pm, the fire services could arrive on the spot after more than an hour delay due to traffic diversion at the ring road-Puttenahalli junction. "But for the narrow lanes and traffic jams on the road, we could have reached there pretty early," said B G Chengappa, joint director of Fire Services. There was drama in the air as the fire personnel as well as the people on the ground and on the wheel had tense moments. "For a moment, there was panic and screaming. Later, there was a dead silence," said Gautham, one of the organizers. The entire rescue operation took 40 men from fire services and one and half hours. Initially, the fire personnel used their vehicle ladders to bring down the people, but it did not reach the upper carriages. Then they had to use the rope ladders to rescue the people on the top. Cheers rent the air when eight-year-old Raghavi (8), the first one to be brought down, reached the ground safely. She looked very poised and said that she was not scared while on the giant wheel. Mariam from Mumbai, who waited for over an hour for her daughter and granddaughter to be rescued, was too shocked to react. Though the fair opened four days ago, due to rain threat, the organizers decided to postpone the opening of amusement games to Sunday. "The incident took place at around 6.30 pm. We have safety ladders on either side of the wheel, but we did not want to take any chances and decided to call the fire tenders," Goutham said. Meanwhile, Chengappa said they would initiate a probe into the episode.
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