Sixteen passengers were yesterday trapped in ferris wheel carriages at the Miramar Entertainment Park in Taipei’s Dazhi area (大直) for about 30 minutes due to the system detecting high wind speeds, the Miramar complex said.
Park general manager Hsieh Chia-han (謝佳翰) said the system automatically shut off the supply of electricity to the attraction, as gusts of wind reaching 15 on the Beaufort wind force scale were detected.
The ride’s eight security systems had to be restarted manually, Hsieh said.
Photo: CNA
The ferris wheel has 48 carriages, which have a maximum capacity of six people each, Hsieh said.
Each carriage has four sets of double security locks that connect to the main structure, Hsieh said.
The carriages lock to the main structure if wind speeds reach 15 on the Beaufort scale, Hsieh added.
Photo: CNA
Taiwan uses an extended Beaufort scale that has a maximum reading of 17.
A reading of 15 indicates wind speeds of 167kph to 183kph.
The complex said that while separate equipment recorded gusts reaching only 10 on the scale, there must have been wind shear that reached 15.
“We contacted our engineers and safely brought down all of the passengers within an hour,” Hsieh said.
The Taipei City Fire Department said that it had been called to the scene, but the park’s management had things under control, adding that it stood by to offer support.
The department said that the sudden halt on the ferris wheel was due to the safety measures kicking in and was not due to a malfunction.
Taiwan Power Co (台電) said that circuits and electricity supply in the area showed no abnormalities.
Miramar said that it had returned all the fares paid by people caught up in the incident and collected the names of those who were trapped to give them free tickets.
Operations resumed after management inspected the ferris wheel and were certain of no further safety concerns.
Additional reporting by CNA
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique