Dozens of passengers were isolated for hours as a Ferris wheel, one of the most popular tourist attr..

사진 확대 The paramedics are using a ladder truck to rescue passengers in the gondola of the Ferris wheel, which was stopped due to power failure. [Kyodo News]

Dozens of passengers were isolated for hours as a Ferris wheel, one of the most popular tourist attractions in Osaka, Japan, stopped due to lightning.

According to Japan’s Kyodo News and other local media on the 26th, a 123-meter-high Ferris wheel in Osaka stopped due to a blackout at around 5:47 p.m. the previous day (25th).

Twenty passengers were rescued by fire authorities after being trapped in a gondola for up to nine hours.

In the early days of the accident, operators manually operated the Ferris wheel to get passengers on the gondola off sequentially, but the speed was slow. Eventually, firefighters and paramedics who were dispatched to the scene used a ladder truck to rescue them, and the last passenger was able to escape only at 2:41 a.m. on the day, about nine hours after the suspension.

No injuries were reported.

사진 확대 Passengers being rescued. [TV Asahi Capture]

An official from the Ferris wheel operator said, “We are currently investigating the exact cause of the accident and are reviewing future response procedures.”

The cause of the accident is believed to have been an emergency stop due to a failure in the commercial power supply of the Ferris wheel due to lightning.

However, it is not clear whether the Ferris wheel was directly struck by lightning and is being investigated.

The power supply was restored immediately after the power outage occurred, but the Ferris wheel failed to operate at all due to a failure in the Ferris wheel’s own power management system. The wind reportedly disrupted rescue operations. In addition, the cooling and heating system inside the gondola was not available.

The Ferris wheel was severely damaged and was suspended the next day. The timing of the resumption of operations is also unclear at this time.

The Osaka Ferris wheel, called the “Osaka Wheel,” is Japan’s tallest Ferris wheel installed inside the entertainment complex “Expo City” in 吹, Osaka. It is also a popular place for Koreans because it overlooks Osaka at a glance.