The Wheel at ICON Park: Drone video shows riders being rescued after attraction loses power

ORLANDO, Fla. - Orange County Fire Rescue released drone video on Tuesday showing the dramatic rescue of dozens of people after The Wheel at ICON Park in Orlando lost power on New Year's Eve, trapping riders inside the pod vehicles. 

In the footage, first responders are seen climbing up the 400-foot tall Ferris wheel wearing flashlight helmets and crawling into the pitch black pods where riders were left in the dark above International Drive late Saturday night. The video pans to more than a dozen fire trucks, ambulances, and law enforcement vehicles on the ground below after the area was closed off during the rescue.

Technical rescue teams had to manually rotate the ride to evacuate everyone from the cabins, a spokesperson for Orange County Fire Rescue said. A total of 62 riders from more than 20 pods were rescued from The Wheel and officials said no injuries were reported. 

It is not known was caused the power failure. 

The attraction will be closed for several days for maintenance and inspections. In a statement from ICON Park, it said, "the attraction will be reviewed by Florida state ride inspectors before reopening. Updates on opening will be provided on our website and social."

A FOX 35 viewer shared video of smoke and sparks that appeared to be shooting out from above one of the ride pods as the rest of the ride, which is normally illuminated, remained dark.

This is the second incident involving a ride at ICON Park this year. 

In March, 14-year-old Tyre Sampson fell to his death from the Orlando FreeFall drop tower ride. Sampson's autopsy revealed the teen was nearly 100 pounds over the ride's weight limit and according to an earlier state investigation, operators made manual adjustments in order to seat him. The ride is set to be torn down. 

The Orlando FreeFall is owned by Slingshot Group and housed at ICON Park. The Wheel is owned and operated by ICON Park.