Jul 10, 2008 1:58 pm US/Eastern
Skyfari Stranded: Cable Cars Not Ready To Resume
Mechanical Failure Traps 37 Visitors Dangling Above Lions; Officials Say Falling Was Never An Issue
No Injuries In Successful Rescue
BRONX (CBS) ―
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More than three-dozen people were stranded high above the Bronx Zoo for several hours on July 9 after the facility's "Skyfari" broke down.
CBS
Mechanical failure is being blamed for a problem with the Bronx Zoo's cable cars that left 37 visitors stranded in the sky on Wednesday. The zoo visitors were trapped in the hot, crowded cars for 5 hours. Zoo officials told CBS 2 the Skyfari ride won't be back in business anytime soon.
Even before the Bronx Zoo re-opened Thursday morning, the 3rd and 4th graders from summer school at P.S. 126 were eager to see the animals, but their teachers were keeping their feet firmly planted on the ground: no up-in-the-air touring for them.
"Get stuck for five hours, absolutely not. I am claustrophobic and in that humidity and no water? Absolutely not. No, no, no," said teacher Lydia Leshchuk.
It was less than 12 hours earlier that thirty-seven people, including seven children were trapped in the Skyfari cable cars, suspended 100 feet over the baboon habitat and the roaming lions and gazelles. The powerful thunderstorms that rumbled through just after 5 p.m. may be partly to blame.
"The wheels that would normally be flush with the cable had separated from one of the towers causing a safety mechanism to trigger," said Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.
Using a crane, rescuers perched above the cars, finally freed some of the passengers at 8:30 p.m. The rest stepped out of their cable cars two hours later.
"Everybody worked very efficiently, very slowly with safety first and it was a happy ending," said Bronx Zoo Director Jim Breheny.
The Skyfari will be closed until zoo officials say they know for sure what went wrong. The New York State Department of Labor is in the process of conducting inspections.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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