More Than a Dozen People Trapped on SeaWorld Ride: Police
More than a dozen guests at SeaWorld San Diego were reportedly stuck on the theme park's gondolas Monday night, according to San Diego Fire-Rescue.
Rescue crews were called in at around 7:20 p.m. for the 16 people stranded on five gondolas on Bayside Skyride, said SDFD Battalion Chief Robert Logan.
SDFD said there was a big gust of wind that tripped a circuit breaker that caused the ride to stop working.
Logan said crews will lower the guests down to boats via a rope system.
Of the 16 people, Logan said there was one infant. The infant will require a special harness.
SDFD said crews will be slow and methodical.
"All the guests are currently safe," SeaWorld said in a released statement.
SeaWorld said it is in contact with all the trapped guests at this time. Blankets are available on the gondolas, the theme park said.
Natasha Nelson told NBC 7 her family were some of the guests reportedly trapped on the ride.
Nelson’s 11-year-old daughter and 12-year-old nephew were in one gondola. Nelson’s sister, Naomi Ince, and Ince’s 9-year-old daughter were in another gondola.
Ince had been watching the children at this time, and Nelson said her sister’s phone had since died.
It is not clear why the family had been split up into two gondolas at this time.
SeaWorld issued the following statement:
Guest safety is paramount. Due to an unusual gust of significant wind, the operations of the Bayside Skyride stopped. A number of guests are currently on the Skyride seated in 5 gondolas. We are currently working with San Diego Fire & Rescue and the San Diego Lifeguards to evacuate the guests from the ride. We practice emergency evacuation procedures with local first responders annually. We are in contact with the guests via intercom, and they have been made aware of the evacuation procedures. There are also blankets on board each gondola. Evacuations will be conducted in accordance with the highest safety standards. All the guests are currently safe while awaiting evacuation. Guest safety is our top priority. Once our guests are cared for, we will conduct a thorough inspection of the ride prior to re-opening. We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused the guests.
No other information was available.
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from NBC New York - Top Stories http://bit.ly/2S9oZQE
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