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Theme park visitors stranded above lion enclosure
18.08.09
Children and parents had to be rescued from a theme park ride after they were reportedly left stranded high above the lion enclosure by a power cut.
Fire crews had to help 40 stranded customers at Chessington World of Adventures in Surrey when the failure stopped the roller-coaster rides in their tracks. It is the second power outage at the park in three days.
Visitors on the park's monorail were left 20 feet above a lion enclosure as park rangers patrolled the area with guns in case the big cats and gorillas escaped from their electricity-controlled enclosures, the Daily Mail reported.
Christine Ralevic told the newspaper she and her 11-year-old niece and 10-year-old nephew were among 50 people stuck on the Safari Skyride monorail for two hours before being carried down into the sealion enclosure.
"Staff had handed us packets of crisps and bottles of water using nets because it was very hot and claustrophobic in there. It was very scary and my legs were shaking."
A spokeswoman for London Fire Brigade said crews spent more than two hours helping stranded visitors
"Three fire engines and around 15 firefighters were called to an incident at a theme park on Leatherhead Road, Chessington on Monday.
"Firefighters rescued approximately 40 people who were unable to leave a ride. The cause of the incident is under investigation".
Fire crews also had to be called to the park to help trapped riders on Saturday after the power failed.
EDF Energy said that a high-voltage underground electricity cable failed at 12.47pm yesterday cutting off power to several thousand customers, including the theme park, and engineers finished fixing the problem at 3.06pm.
A spokesman said: "We appreciate how difficult it can be to lose power, especially during a holiday season, and would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused by this incident."
