Myrtle Beach SkyWheel accident: What happened this weekend?
The Myrtle Beach SkyWheel got stuck yesterday evening while six passengers were on board spread across three gondolas, according to Sean Bailey, a SkyWheel marketing manager.
“We got them down in under an hour,” he said. “We identified the issue this morning pretty quickly, and we were able to get everything back in motion.”
According to the popular attraction’s Facebook page, the wheel was running again by 1 p.m. today.
Bailey said it was a “technical issue” that caused the wheel to stop mid-ride. He also said that “the guests were never in any danger. They were always safe. They actually were in the air conditioned gondolas. We were in constant communication with the guests that were in the gondolas as well.”
“We evacuated following our manufacturer recommended training,” read a post from the attraction’s Facebook page. “The SkyWheel crew received assistance from the Myrtle Beach Fire Dept.”
Captain Christian Sliker of the Myrtle Beach Fire Department said that he does not know how the wheel lost power. “But they have safety mechanisms in place to be able to lower the carts if something happens, and our crews were called to assist with removing occupants from the the units that were occupied, and everyone was removed safely,” he said.
