London Eye BREAKS DOWN on hottest day of year leaving visitors stranded in glass pods
THE London Eye broke down on Britain’s hottest day of the year, leaving visitors stranded in glass pods for 10 minutes today.
Tourists were seen waiting at the popular attraction in the baking heat with the mercury as high as 28C in the capital.
Footage showed an announcement being made at the London Eye saying engineers were in attendance.
Those onboard the iconic wheel were trapped in pods, suspended 135metres in the sky as staff frantically worked to fix it just before 4pm.
Crowds could be seen gathering at the base of the tourist attraction, which has 32 capsules, with each capable of carrying up to 28 passengers.
It had started to let sightseers back onboard to view the London skyline - before breaking down yet again, according to .
The London Eye team told The Sun: "Earlier today, the London Eye temporarily paused to investigate a minor technical issue.
"Our team were able to quickly resolve the issue, resulting in a short 10 minute delay to boarding, after which we resumed operating as usual. We apologise for any inconvenience caused."
The London Eye was forced to spin the wrong way to correct a technical fault after it stopped turning.
Passengers left stranded in the queue bailed out after the wheel got stuck for 10 minutes.
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Cindy Efickley, visiting from Pennsylvania with her husband Mark, said: “It was very hot in the queue and the technical difficulties announcement made some people leave, mostly elderly people.
“But once we got on there were no problems at all - we had champagne so I forgot all about the problems.”
Another tourist, who didn’t give a name, revealed the wheel briefly reversed while engineers fixed the issue.
They added: “We were near the top but the Eye span back slightly. The air conditioning stayed on so we were all fine.
“We actually got more time on there and it’s cooler on-board than out here in the queue."
Marta Suleva, a tourist with her husband and two children, was left stuck at the top of the wheel when it stopped moving.
She told The Sun: “We had an announcement that there were technical problems.
“But the air conditioning stayed working which was a relief. Our cabin was full.
“We were up high so it was really good, we had the best views of the city.”
The incident came on the warmest start to May on record.
The recent warm spell is the hottest start to the month since records began - and temperatures could go even higher.
Forecasters predict temperatures could even hit 30C in some parts of the country.
A temperature of 28C was recorded at Kew Gardens, in South-West London this afternoon.
The previous record for May Day was 27.4C recorded at Lossiemouth, Moray, on May 1 1990.
Last summer wasn't even close to being this hot, with the average temperature only being 14C.
The London Eye also broke down in 2016, leaving visitors stranded for more than three hours.
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Last year, a capsule was blown open by 94mph winds during Storm Henk, leaving a family terrified.
The giant ferris wheel marked its 25th anniversary this year.
