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Firefighters have launched a rescue operation to free dozens of people who were trapped 65ft in the air when a ride broke down on the South Bank.

Children were among those stuck on the attraction, which malfunctioned at about 5.30pm today.

The Starflyer ride is situated outside the Southbank Centre, close to the London Eye, and is a part of the London Wonderground festival.

The ride, which features swinging cars set around a tall pillar, is more than 200ft high, and broke down as riders were part-way up.

The attraction, which is owned by Mellors Group, is the tallest mobile ride ever to feature in the UK, and has previously appeared at Hyde Park's Winter Wonderland.

A ride normally lasts four minutes, but witnesses said some of those on board were stuck for several hours as fire fighters brought passengers down two-by-two using an aerial ladder platform.

One witness, who wished to be named only as Diksha, a recent graduate in PR from Middlesex University, watched the rescue operation unfolding from the ground.

The 21-year-old, who lives in Wembley Park, told the Standard the situation looked "very scary" as riders were forced to step onto the platform from the cars, which were swinging in the wind.

She said: "They've got four or five people out so far, I got here 45 minutes ago and they were stuck since then.

"The fire brigade came and they are trying to get people out, there are four fire engines.

"I think some of the people look scared, but some are just taking videos.

"There are two ladders and they're going down two at a time on each ladder.

"I can see two children in one of the cars.

"I would be really scared if I was on the ride, after seeing this I won't be going on a ride like this for a long time.

"The cars are swinging so it's very scary, it's windy and I can see the ride moving."

A spokeswoman for London Fire Bridgade said they had been called at 6.03pm, adding that the rescue operation was ongoing.

Witnesses also said police and paramedics were on standby at the scene.

Another witness, Rose Biggin, said she saw a workman attempting to fix the ride beofre the fire brigade arrived.

She told the Standard: "We were just walking past and slowly became aware that the ride was not moving and their legs were dangling.

"A small crowd was gathering to watch it as people realised it was stuck.

"A man was climbing up the middle and we saw him again at the top of the stuck bit, and lots of loud hammering from there."

The final passengers were brought down after spending more than three hours trapped on the ride.

Speaking from the scene, LFB station manager Clive Robinson said: “Crews are using an aerial ladder platform, which is a bit like a cherry picker to reach the people and bring them back down.

"It’s slow work as we need to access each cage on the ride individually and ensure they are secure before we move them from the ride onto our platform and bring them back down to the ground.

"There are no injuries and everyone is patiently waiting for us to get around to them."

Crews are also working with the onsite engineer to manually release the ride’s ‘friction break’ so it can turn around and align the pods with the aerial ladder platform.

A Met Police spokesman said: "Police were alerted shortly after 7pm, to a funfair ride having broken down on the South Bank near to Hungerford Bridge.

"London Fire Brigade are assisting people in getting off the ride.

"Police officers remain at the scene. The Health and Safety Executive have been informed and cordons are in place.

"LAS are also at the scene. We are not aware of any injury."

An LAS spokesman said three people were checked over at the scene, but nobody was taken to hospital.

A spokesman for London Wonderground said the ride was managed by the Southbank Centre.

The spokesman added: "This evening the Starflyer which shares our site experienced a technical fault.

"Everyone on the ride has been evacuated safely and the company who manage the ride for Southbank Centre are investigating the fault.”

A spokeswoman for the Southbank Centre said: "A fault occurred in the Starflyer ride at 5.30pm on Sunday evening. London Fire Brigade were called and arrived at 6pm. They worked methodically to get everyone safely off the ride by 8.45pm.

"Our first concern was for the safety and well being of those trapped and now that everyone has been safely rescued we will work with the operators of the ride, Mellors Group, to establish the cause of the problem. The ride will remain closed for the time being.

"We are grateful to the London Fire Brigade for their assistance tonight."

Mellors Group could not be reached for comment.