Terrifying incident on the London Eye

IMAGINE being right at the top of the world’s largest cantilevered observation wheel, the London Eye, and suddenly part of the capsule is torn open! 

This was the terrifying reality for a group of people riding the famous landmark yesterday, on Tuesday January 2, when a London Eye capsule blew right open. 

The group, which included a family of six, who rode the London Eye during Storm Henk were left ‘terrified’ after its fierce winds tore open the hatch on the roof of their pod.

The father of the family, David Nock, explained to local media that it “didn’t feel that windy” when they were walking around the city during a visit. However, after they embarked on the 135 metre tall wheel, they began to feel something was wrong. David said that the Eye began “flexing” on the way up and kept “stop-starting” as the storm raged against it. He said that when they got to the very top, that’s when the “wind really started to howl, suddenly ripping the emergency hatch off the top of the pod with a big crash.’

The capsule was at this point completely exposed to the elements, as everyone inside became ‘extremely worried’, which included a grandmother in her late 70s. Another ‘very nervous’ man was even heard ‘saying his prayers’.

David was the one to then push the emergency button, which stopped to ride and put him in instant contact with the staff to report the alarming problem at hand. 

At this point, the whole of the London Eye was evacuated and closed down while the issue was dealt with.

A spokesperson for the London Eye stated that the incident was an ‘isolated technical issue’, adding that staff ‘immediately ensured that guests safely disembarked’.

On official statement that was later released read: ‘Due to disruption from adverse weather conditions yesterday, we took the decision to close the London Eye for a brief period. We can confirm that no guests were injured.’

Injured no, but traumatised? Perhaps!