Hamburg Cathedral
Carousel stops while driving – fire brigade rescues six people from a height of 15 meters
Height rescuers from the fire brigade freed the guests of the “Jekyll and Hyde” ride on Hamburger Dom
© Thomas Müller / DPA
It’s every carousel visitor’s nightmare: the ride suddenly stops. The fire brigade freed six people from an awkward situation at the Hamburger Dom.
Shortly before 4 p.m. nothing was working anymore. A defect on Monday afternoon caused the “Jekyll and Hyde” ride to stop at the Hamburger Dom festival. Six passengers were stuck in their gondolas about 15 meters away, some in an oblique position with their upper bodies down.
Under the eyes of hundreds of onlookers, the Hamburg fire brigade approached the Heiligengeistfeld with a turntable ladder and 22 emergency services. After about two hours of work, rescuers freed the passengers from the ride and gradually took them on board their aerial ladder basket.
Visitors to the Hamburg Cathedral applaud the rescue
“We were lucky that we had nice weather and no freezing rain blew across,” said fireman Olaf Rogge to RTL. “All the people we rescued were fine, some had a little weak legs, especially the people on the right side from hanging upside down.”
Lost places
Thousands of visitors once enjoyed themselves here. Now there is dead silence
Other cathedral visitors applauded after the rescue operation, showmen provided the rescued with food and drinks. Nobody had to go to the hospital.
The ride “Jekyll and Hyde” is a so-called propeller. A long arm rotates around a horizontal axis. According to the operator, the gondolas circle at up to 130 kilometers per hour and at a height of up to 42 meters. It therefore has an “emergency battery to recover passengers in the event of a power failure”.
Reason for incident in ride unclear
Whether she failed is still unclear. There were different statements about the cause of the incident. According to the DPA news agency, the police spoke of a power failure, while the fire brigade generally mentioned a possible technical defect. According to the operator, damage to the gearbox may have been the reason.
The ride started operating again on Monday evening, other rides in the Hamburg Cathedral were not affected.
Sources: RTL, Fairground Bethel Thelen jr.DPA news agency