The Yomiuri Shimbun
Passengers are rescued from a gondola on the Osaka Wheel in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, at 1:28 a.m. on Wednesday.
14:36 JST, November 26, 2025
SUITA, Osaka — Twenty people were stranded on a large Ferris wheel at the commercial complex Expocity in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, on Tuesday evening because a lightning strike caused a temporary power outage.
Nine groups of passengers were rescued by 2:41 a.m. on Wednesday.
According to the local fire department, while some people complained of temporary health problems, none of the 20 was injured.
According to the operating company of the Osaka Wheel, a lightning strike occurred and there was a temporary power outage, causing a malfunction of the system that operates the wheel. About 40 staff members manually rotated the wheel to lower the gondolas to the ground. Firefighters rescued some people from other gondolas, using a ladder truck.
AloJapan.com