A family was left praying for their lives after a powerful gust of wind tore open the hatch of their pod on the London Eye, a massive Ferris wheel and a major tourist attraction.
David Nock, from Bournemouth in Dorset, was on a trip to the city with his family when the incident took place on Tuesday. The hatch was ripped open due to the strong winds brought by Storm Henk in Britain. However, no one received any injuries and were able to reach home safely.
"The wind was so strong it actually ripped an access hatch off the top of the pod we were in. You can imagine, it got very noisy and the wind was blowing and it was slightly terrifying," Nock told BBC Radio Solent. He and his family of eleven were left stuck for five minutes.
A London Eye passenger has described the "nerve-racking" moment a roof hatch began to blow off in high winds during Storm Henk.#london pic.twitter.com/bWoE8ZjM2v
— BBC London (@BBCLondonNews) January 3, 2024
"The whole Eye was flexing at one point and I did wonder whether they were stopping and starting because the wheels that rotate it weren't getting traction. Equally, on the way down there were stops and starts and then the hatch started crunching and squishing into the mechanism. That's when I said, right, I'm going to push the emergency button," added Nock.
Meanwhile, the team that manages the tourist attraction has issued an apology for the incident. They also added that it was closed for a brief period after the incident.
"..our expert technical team immediately ensured that guests safely disembarked and conducted further rigorous checks before reopening the attraction that evening," they added. "We can confirm that no parts of the pod detached from the main structure and that no guests were injured".
Storm Henk has disrupted the daily lives of Britons in the last two days. It brought winds of more than 90mph to some regions along with heavy rains. More than 250 flood warnings have been issued since Tuesday. Thousands of households have been left without power in several places in Britain.
The storm has also claimed a life. On Tuesday, a man in his 50s died after a tree fell on the car he was driving in Gloucestershire. In Northamptonshire, people had to be evacuated from the Billing Aquadome caravan park using boats.
The Met Office has warned of more rain on Thursday, which can cause flooding and travel disruptions. The Met Office issued a yellow severe warning for several regions of southern Britain, from Cornwall to East Anglia, including London. The next few hours may see more travel disruptions, per the local authorities.
However, the storm has largely made its way to Scandinavia. The winds are expected to be lighter in the coming days.
