Terrifying moment boy, 5, dangles by his neck from Ferris wheel
This is the heart-stopping moment a five-year-old boy hangs by his neck from a Ferris wheel cabin some 39 metres in the air after being allowed to ride without an adult.
The boy is said to have tried to sit on the metal bars securing the open window of the cabin when he slipped and nearly plunged some 40 metres to his death at Yuhuan Park in Taizhou city in East China’s Zhejiang province.
The terrifying moment happened on 24 September as the boy and his mum, with the surname of Liu, visited the amusement park during the Mid-Autumn Festival long weekend.
The mum decided to save $6 on a ticket and let her son ride alone after he repeatedly nagged her about it, with staff members reportedly allowing the oversight.
But as the boy’s car reached the peak of the 41-metre city landmark Ferris wheel, screams were heard from the ground as witnesses spotted the boy climbing out the window feet first.
The shouting and screaming increased in intensity as the boy’s small body appeared to slip out the window between the metal security bars.
Footage shows the boy desperately kicking his legs as he hangs by his neck some 39 metres in the air, with no one in his car to help him back inside.
When it became clear the boy could not be helped, operators let the Ferris wheel continue to turn and waited as car 18 made its way to the ground agonisingly slowly.
Staff members and other witnesses immediately rushed to the boy and freed him from the bars when he came within reach, the video shows.
He and his mum were taken to the city’s First People’s Hospital, with the child fortunately suffering no serious injuries besides a bruised neck.
City officials have reportedly shut down the Ferris wheel operations as investigations into the ordeal continue.
“Children need to be accompanied by adults when riding the Ferris wheel. I don’t know how the mother convinced the staff members to let her son ride along in a car,” one witness said.
Yuhuan Park’s amusement facilities were opened to the public in November 2013, the 41-metre Ferris wheel instantly becoming its main attraction and Taizhou’s new landmark.
