Advertisement

Chairlift riders recall 'adventure'

Rescuers at Adventure World yesterday. Picture: Ian Munro/The West Australian

People stuck on an Adventure World chairlift for up to three hours yesterday have described their fear as the ride jolted to a stop.

Twenty people were on the chairlift about 12.30pm when it stopped suddenly.

It took 12 firefighters until just after 3.30pm to bring the last trapped person to safety.

Lloyd Mayhew, 12, of Harvey, and his friend Christian Van Noort, of Bunbury, had been on the ride for only seconds when it stopped.

"It started vibrating and came to a sudden jolt - we were scared because we didn't know what had happened," Lloyd said.

Christian said he and Lloyd were fortunate they were only about 1.5m off the ground when it happened, otherwise it could have been far worse.

Adventure World staff handed water and lollies to those stranded as rescue crew used a cherry picker to pluck people off the ride.

"A fireman and a man from Adventure World came and we put our hands on their shoulders and they lifted us down," Christian said.

They were stuck for 1½ hours.

Adventure World chief executive Mark Shaw said the ride stopped because of a technical problem. "It has safety sensors that stop the ride," he said. "People were understanding."

Mr Shaw said that in the 21 years the chairlift had been operating, it had not stopped unexpectedly before.