Technical glitch in ride leaves 36 people stranded mid-air at theme park near Chennai, all rescued

Chennai: What began as a pleasant evening at an amusement park near here turned into a terrifying experience for a group of 36 people, including children, when their ride got stranded mid-air reportedly due to a technical glitch.

All the 36 people were safely rescued after a one-and-a-half-hour rescue operation on Tuesday night, a senior official from the fire and rescue services department said.

“We were able to rescue all the 36 persons, including 20 men and 16 women, by using two sky lifts. They are all safe,” district fire officer Loganathan said.

About 35 personnel from the fire and rescue services department along with the local police were involved in bringing down the stranded people.

There was total chaos when the ride that could revolve a full circle suddenly got stuck. Luckily for the passengers, it remained above the ground, sparing them the risk of falling down.

Nevertheless, they panicked as there was no one to comfort or rescue them for nearly two hours, a woman who was later rescued said.

A visibly shaken man said he used his mobile phone and Instagram account to seek police help.

“We got a call at 7:20 pm that 36 people were stuck in a fun ride called ‘Top Gun’. After our initial attempts to rescue them with a ladder failed, we engaged two sky lifts to safely bring them down one by one,” Loganathan told reporters.

None among those rescued were injured, he said, adding that an ambulance was brought to the theme park to check their health status.

“It is suspected that a mechanical fault left the giant ride stuck in midair,” he said.