After a power outage on Monday left nine visitors stranded on a Ferris wheel at Lusito Land, there are conflicting accounts of what happened.
The owner of the Joburg amusement park, Delene van Rensburg, said the generator should have been able to power the Ferris wheel, but she was not sure why it didn’t.
Power was restored only to some areas.
Venue operations centre spokeswoman Lee-Ann Gama said returning power to the Ferris wheel was delayed because it took a long time for workers to open the safety box and turn the power on.
“At no time were any of the visitors on the Ferris wheel in any danger,” insisted Lusito Association spokeswoman Noemia Contente.
Although Gama said the stranded riders were in the mid-level cars of the Ferris wheel, photographs of the rescue obtained by The Star showed people stuck on the highest cars.
Van Rensburg set out to loosen the Ferris wheel, but said she had to stop after personnel from the Turffontein fire station and Joburg Emergency Management Services (EMS) took over.
Attempts to rescue the stranded riders by ladder failed because the people were too afraid to climb down, said Van Rensburg.
She said she had to start the manual loosening process all over again to free the riders.
“It’s actually so simple, but it (turned into) a big thing,” Van Rensburg said.
People gave different accounts of how long the rescue took.
Gama and Booysens police spokeswoman Lorraine van Emmerik said the rescue took 45 minutes.
Contente said it took an hour, while Van Rensburg and Joburg EMS said the rescue took almost an hour and a half.
The Turffontein fire station could not be reached for comment.
The festival continued yesterday “without any major changes”, said Contente.
The fair is open on public holidays and the coming long weekend. Entry is R50 for adults and R20 for children aged from three to 12 and for pensioners.
The Lusito Land Festival, held at Pioneer Park in La Rochelle, is an annual fundraiser for the Lusito-Portuguese Association for the Mentally and Physically Handicapped.
The institution cares for 70 children, and offers them special education and medical and therapeutic treatments.
The festival includes 147 exhibitions, live music and small rides. - The Star