Southbank fairground: 19 rescued from Starflyer ride after 'technical fault'

Firefighters spent more than three hours rescuing people trapped in cages 20m above the ground

Nineteen people, including six children, have been rescued from a fairground ride after it became stuck 20m above the ground.

Firefighters spent more than three hours rescuing people trapped in cages on the Starflyer ride on London’s Southbank on Sunday night.

No injuries have been reported and it is not yet known what caused the ride, which has 10 hanging capsules that swing around a central pillar, to stop working.​

London Wonderground, where the ride is located, said the Starflyer had “experienced a technical fault” and that the incident was being investigated by the company who manage the ride for the Southbank Centre.

The London Fire Brigade was called to the Southbank at around 6pm.

Two fire engines and two aerial ladder platforms were used to reach people trapped on the ride and bring them back down to the ground.

“It was slow work,” said Station Manager Clive Robinson who was at the scene, "as we need[ed] to access each cage on the ride individually and ensure they were secure before we move[d] them from the ride onto our platform and […] back down to the ground.”

Crews also worked with an onsite engineer to manually release the ride’s friction break so that it could be turned round and aligned with the aerial ladder.

Mr Robinson said all the people on board had waited patiently to be rescued.

“While everyone was very relieved to be back on the ground everyone was very calm,” he said.

The Southbank Centre said: “We are grateful to [London Fire Brigade] for assisting those trapped. We will work with the owners of the ride to investigate the cause of the fault.”