Fire crews launched a dramatic rescue mission in central London last night after a pod on a Ferris wheel carrying dozens of passengers became "partially detached".
People using the attraction were lifted to safety from the wheel in Marble Arch when it "malfunctioned" while more than 50 people - including 26 children - were on board.
Police closed the road as bystanders watched the dramatic sight of an aerial ladder platform extracting two passengers from the broken pod.
Paul Brown, 34, lives nearby on Park Lane and saw the incident unfold at around 8pm last night.
"There were lots and lots of fire engines and police, and roads were stopped at Marble Arch," he said.
"One of the pods looked like it was hanging, like it was not properly attached.
"Then I left and went home. I was eating on the balcony and I could hear people screaming 'help, help'."
He added: "It freaked me out a little bit."
An LFB spokesman confirmed the brigade was called to reports of trapped people on a Ferris wheel.
"Two people were trapped on the upturn of the ferris wheel, on the second floor level," he said, adding firefighters had described the height as being about "one storey high".
The two adults were released and brought down to safety before a further 24 adults and 26 children were assisted to ground level, he said.
Other witnesses tweeted pictures of the rescue effort as it got underway.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">People stuck at Marble Arch <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.awin1.com/awclick.php?mid=9&id=222025&p=http://t.co/zfCaIX3O0L" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-407706-http://t.co/zfCaIX3O0L" data-vars-event-id="c23">pic.twitter.com/zfCaIX3O0L</a>— gareth williams (@nugget62) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/nugget62/status/622859040008339456" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-407706-https://twitter.com/nugget62/status/622859040008339456" data-vars-event-id="c23">July 19, 2015</a>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/LondonFire" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-407706-https://twitter.com/LondonFire" data-vars-event-id="c23">@LondonFire</a> Assisting on a broken Giant wheel in Marble Arch <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.awin1.com/awclick.php?mid=9&id=222025&p=http://t.co/FSXYBAo3cS" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-407706-http://t.co/FSXYBAo3cS" data-vars-event-id="c23">pic.twitter.com/FSXYBAo3cS</a>— Vitor Gava (@Vitimgava_) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Vitimgava_/status/622858610209607680" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-407706-https://twitter.com/Vitimgava_/status/622858610209607680" data-vars-event-id="c23">July 19, 2015</a>
Posting on social network Instagram, an apparent witness using the handle pennyr89 said "hordes of people" had been evacuated and "one of the pods got caught on something and had tilted so far that it was practically on it's side".
A spokesman for entertainment company Underbelly, which runs the wheel, said: "We can confirm that the Marble Arch Observation Wheel was stopped on Sunday evening.
"With the help of emergency services, two passengers were removed from one of the pods, with the remaining passengers safely exiting the wheel in the normal manner.
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"Health and safety is paramount to the operation of the wheel and until further investigations have been carried out. The wheel will remain closed until further notice."
