Florida officials release video of people being rescued from amusement park ride after it loses power
Officials in Florida released drone video showing individuals being rescued off of an amusement park ride in Orlando, Florida on New Year's Eve after it lost power. (Credit: Orange County Fire Rescue)
Officials in Florida released drone video showing individuals being rescued off of an amusement park ride in Orlando, Florida on New Year's Eve after it lost power.
The Wheel at ICON Park in Orlando lost power on December 31, 2022, at around 6:20 p.m. with 20 of the Ferris wheel pods occupied, leaving 62 people stuck inside the pods.
Crews with the Orange County Fire Rescue were forced to manually rotate the attraction in order to evacuate people from the Ferris wheel pods, a spokesperson for the department told FOX 35.
Video released by the Orange County Fire Rescue shows crews climbing the attraction, which stands at 400-feet tall.
FERRIS WHEEL AT ORLANDO'S ICON PARK LOSES POWER, DOZENS RESCUED FROM 400-FOOT-TALL RIDE
Crews with the Orange County Fire Rescue were forced to manually rotate the attraction in order to evacuate people from the Ferris wheel pods, a spokesperson for the department told FOX 35. (Orange County Fire Rescue)
By 10:43 p.m. on New Year's Eve officials confirmed that all 62 people on the ride were successfully rescued.
Orange County Fire Rescue crews manually turn the Ferris wheel at ICON Park to rescue riders after a power failure. (Orange County Fire Rescue)
A spokesperson for ICON Park said "the attraction will be reviewed by Florida state ride inspectors before reopening. Updates on opening will be provided on our website and social."
ORLANDO AMUSEMENT PARK SUSPENDS RIDE WHERE CUSTOMERS SHOOT TARGETS WHILE PERCHED WITH LASER GUNS
Orange County Fire Rescue evacuated 62 riders stuck on ICON Park's Orlando Wheel after a power failure on New Year's Eve. (Orange County Fire Rescue)
The Orlando Wheel opened in 2015, according to the amusement park's website. It is owned and operated by ICON Park.
On March 24, 2022, Tyre Sampson, 14, died after falling off of the Orlando FreeFall ride at ICON Park. A report commissioned by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, conducted by Quest Engineering, states that a "proximity sensor" for the harness being used by Sampson was "manually loosened," which meant that Sampson wasn't properly secured in his seat.
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Orange County Fire Rescue firefighters rescue riders from ICON Park's Ferris wheel after a power failure. (Orange County Fire Rescue)
The Orlando FreeFall was permanently closed and will be taken down.
