Durban — A group of visitors to the Royal Show in Pietermaritzburg were left suspended in the air while on a funfair ride there, due to load shedding.
A short video clip of the incident is circulating on social media.
The caption on the video reads: “So PMB finally got the real taste of load shedding.”
Someone behind the video is heard saying: “There is load shedding and they’re stuck there.”
Royal Agricultural Society chief executive Terry Strachan confirmed the incident did happen.
Strachan said that it took about 15 minutes to remedy the situation and it had to be done manually. He said that the incident did not result in any injuries.
Strachan added that the Royal Show was prepared for such incidents.
Reacting to the incident, this is what Facebook users said:
Yul-Brynner Hlongwane said: “Thank God this ride did not crash. I wonder if these incidents are reported to the municipality’s safety committee?”
Barbara Visser said she wants to laugh but she would have died if she got stuck like that: “Proudly South African moment,” she said.
Rodney Narayadu said it had happened in Cape Town too: “Sudden load shedding”.
Sagren Chetty said: “Terrible. That’s the time someone wants to go to the toilet.”
Neil Khelawan said: “Don’t these funfair guys use massive generators though? Or is that just the actual motor for the ride?”
Robyn Louise Braithwaite said: “The RSG said two weeks ago they had back up for load shedding and rides would not be affected, so what happened here?”
Fathima Adham said she felt bad for the trapped visitors – she would have passed out if she was on the ride. She said she hoped the people were okay.
Naadia Noorshib said: “My soul would’ve left my body.”
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Daily News