Dozens of people were rescued from hanging seats on animal habitats after an air ride at the Zoo at Southwick in Mendon, Massachusetts, got stuck Friday afternoon. The incident happened during the zoo’s Skyfari ride, which operates in much the same way as a mountain chairlift for skiers and snowboarders. The chair lift operates in a triangle shape, giving riders an aerial view of the exhibits and animals across the vast property. Video from Sky 5 shows several cherry picker lifts rescuing park entrants who were stuck on the chairlift. Sky 5 captures the two men being rescued using a firetruck ladder. Mendown Town Fire Chief Bill Kessler said when first responders arrived at the scene, they found 19 people in a total of eight chairs. “Luckily, not every chair car was full,” Kessler said. “So that helped too.” “The initial person on the scene had previously worked for a ski resort as well as a rescue,” Kessler said. “When it passes through trees, which is great for Southwick’s zoo customers, it makes hitting them a little harder,” Kessler said. “Especially with certain animal enclosures.” Kessler said zookeepers tried to clear out some of the animals’ areas. “They weren’t able to do anything, but with rescue personnel and zoo personnel, we were able to reach them,” Kessler said. Seven-year-old Sebastian was among dozens of people on the fourlift. Visited Southwick’s Zoo with my grandparents, it was crazy,” Sebastian said. “I’ve never been on a ride that was broken. I was really, like, confident, but I tried not to be intimidated. I was really good at that!” “You were fine,” his grandparents said with a hug after they rescued him. People were pouring water on those stranded on the ride to keep them hydrated due to the hot, humid conditions. At that time the temperature was in the mid 80s. Zoo owners in Southwick said workers discovered an oil leak in the machinery and shut it down as a precaution. The machinery is inspected every year. The zoo said they have never had a problem like this before, but wanted to remain vigilant after detecting the issue. “See the zoo from above on our SkyFurry Sky Ride,” the zoo website says of the ride. “You’ll get a bird’s eye view of the African plain, deer forest, chimpanzees, alligators, and more!” The SkyFury Sky Ride chair can seat two adults, two adults with a younger child, or two children with an adult.
Dozens of people were rescued from hanging seats on animal habitats after an air ride at the Zoo at Southwick in Mendon, Massachusetts, got stuck Friday afternoon.
The incident happened during the zoo’s Skyfari ride, which operates in much the same way as a mountain chairlift for skiers and snowboarders.
The chair lift operates in a triangle shape, giving riders an aerial view of the exhibits and animals across the vast property.
Video from Sky 5 shows several cherry picker lifts rescuing park entrants who were stuck on the chairlift.
Sky 5 captures the two men being rescued using a firetruck ladder.
Mendown Town Fire Chief Bill Kessler said that when first responders arrived at the scene, they said
In total, 19 people were found in eight chairs.
“Luckily, not every chair car was full,” Kessler said. “So that helped too.”
“The opening person had previously worked for a ski resort and also did rescue,” Kessler said.
“When it passes through trees, which is great for Southwick’s zoo customers, it makes hitting them a little harder,” Kessler said. “Especially with certain animal enclosures.”
Kessler said zookeepers tried to clear out some of the animals’ areas. “They weren’t capable of anything, but with a combination of rescue personnel and zoo personnel, we were able to reach them,” Kessler said.
Seven-year-old Sebastian was one of dozens aboard the fourlift, which was visiting Southwick’s zoo with his grandparents.
“It was crazy,” said Sebastian. “I’ve never been on a ride that was broken. I was really, like, confident, but I tried not to be intimidated. I was really good at that!”
“You were good,” said her grandparents, hugging her after the rescue.
People were pouring water on those stranded on the ride to keep them hydrated due to the hot, humid conditions. The temperature at that time was in the mid 80s.
Zoo owners in Southwick said workers discovered an oil leak in the machinery and shut it down as a precaution.
Machinery is checked every year. The zoo said they have never had a problem like this before, but wanted to remain vigilant after detecting the issue.
“See the zoo from above on our SkyFurry Sky Ride,” the zoo website says of the ride. “You’ll get a bird’s eye view of the African plains, deer forests, chimpanzees, alligators, and more!”
The SkyFury Sky Ride chair can seat two adults, two adults with a younger child, or two children with an adult.