Major mishap averted at Bali Yatra as joyride gets stuck 50 ft mid-air

A major mishap was averted at Cuttack’s Bali Yatra on Wednesday when a joyride got stuck mid-air, leaving eight people trapped at a height of approximately 50 feet. According to reports, the joyride malfunctioned while in motion at around 11:03 PM, triggering panic among visitors.

The Fire Services Department was promptly alerted, and the teams deployed at Bali Yatra rushed to the spot. Acting swiftly, they set up powerful tower lights to illuminate the area and mobilized a hydraulic platform from the Abhinav Bidanasi (CDA) Fire Station, carrying out the challenging rescue operation.

The operation proved extremely complex, as rescuers had to balance the combined weight of the joyride’s cage and the hydraulic platform. The operation took one and a half hours, and the team successfully rescued all eight victims without any injuries.

A Highly Challenging Operation

Fire official P.K. Jena described the operation as highly challenging, saying, “It was a tough and tense situation. I personally entered the hydraulic platform to monitor the rescue. Among the victims were women and young children who were terrified and dehydrated. I offered them water and reassured them of their safety. Our team prioritized rescuing the children and women first, and with careful coordination, we successfully brought everyone down safely.”

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“We are equipped with modern rescue tools, including a hydraulic platform, harnesses, and ropes. We ascended using harness support, and under the constant motivation of Fire Officer T.K. Babu, we carried out the rescue with ropes. Balancing the cage was extremely challenging; so, we had to rescue the victims one by one with utmost care and precision. To maintain stability during the final phase, one of our personnel even remained seated inside the cage until the last victim was safely brought down,” he added.