“Neeche kar jhula (Bring down the ferris wheel)”, shouted someone from the ground.

“Arey Ram Ram (Ram Ram)”, shrieked another as a chorus of concern and appeals went up.

This scene played out at a fair in Uttar Pradesh when a 13-year-old girl was spotted dangling from a 60-foot high ferris wheel. After a few heart-stopping moments, and some quick thinking on the part of the operator, the teenager was safely rescued.

The incident, which took place on Wednesday, was reported from Rakehti village in the Nighasan area of Lakhimpur Kheri, nearly 130 km from state capital Lucknow.

As the swing suddenly started moving, she lost her balance and slipped out of her gondola. She was seen hanging on to an iron rod. Shrieks went up. She was stuck on it for a minute, before the operator managed to get the girl down.

Sub District Magistrate Rajiv Nigam said that the girl, who has not been identified, is safe.

The operators did not have the permission to run the giant ferris wheel at the fair. The authorities said an investigation will reveal how the swing was operating without permission.

(With inputs from Prateek Srivastava)
 

A Ferris wheel caught fire at a German summer music festival and injured at least thirty people, including four police officers, as per a report in the New York Post. The incident took place in a gondola at the Highfield Festival at Stormthaler Lake, at around 9.13 pm. The fire began in one lower tub and quickly spread to another, scaring the people on the ride.

Videos captured from the festival showed the Ferris wheel spinning despite the two gondolas being turned into fireballs. Further, thick, black smoke was also seen in the night sky with several people screaming.

Ferris wheel gondolas went up in flames yesterday at the Highfield Festival on the outskirts of Leipzig, Germany.

At least 30 people, including police officials have been injured according to reports from the region. pic.twitter.com/nMMfmxc4Pl

— The Secret Firefighter UK (@TheSecretFF999) August 18, 2024

The conductors stopped the ride and reversed it so that the burning vehicle was positioned close to the top of the wheel. The video showed how powerful the fire was-it blazed white at its centre.

According to the outlet, the 30 people who were treated for injuries sustained mild cases of smoke inhalation. However, two were seriously injured.

German rapper Ski Aggu was on stage when the blaze started and was also instructed to carry on with his performance despite the accident. “I was just told through my earpiece that I should not end the show under any circumstances,” the rapper said on his Instagram. He said he was told to continue performing to avoid “mass panic.”

Further, the two gondolas were successfully tipped upside down by firefighters to stop the fire from spreading. “We currently know that there are over 30 injured people, including four injured police officers, but all of them are probably slightly injured,” police spokeswoman Josephin Sader told the tabloid BILD.

The fire has been put out, leaving the two gondolas destroyed. According to the organisers, a technical issue with the Ferris wheel was the reason for the fire.