London Eye sightseers left freezing above the city
Mechanical fault left passengers freezing as the air conditioning could not be turned off
Passengers enjoying the city scenery from the London Eye got more sightseeing time than they imagined on Saturday night when the pod they were riding in suffered a mechanical fault and left them stranded in midair for hours.
The incident occurred on the evening of Saturday, October 1, when capsule 4 of the London Eye came to a screeching halt, according to witnesses.
Tweeted by the London Ambulance service
Sometime after 7pm, London Eye technicians were called out to the area to fix the issue with capsule 4. Sightseers in the pod were left freezing cold, as the mechanical fault meant that the pod’s air conditioning could not be turned off.
Glenn Fidock, 45, was one of the sightseers left stranded in the capsule 4. He told the Sun newspaper: “People were crying and it was freezing cold because they couldn’t turn off the air conditioning.”
Another disgruntled passenger took to Twitter to complain: “Stranded in capsule 4 more than an hour. Emergency blankets out, no food or milk for babies. #freezingcold.”
Mr Fidock said that technicians spent more than two hours trying to figure out what the problem was and it was not until 11pm that the issue was fixed and the passengers could finally alight.
The London Fire Brigade was dispatched to the South Bank to help with the situation but a spokesperson said that their services were ultimately not needed.
A spokesperson for Merlin Entertainment, the company which owns and operates London Eye, said that all affected passengers were given a full refund and complimentary refreshments.
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