London Eye capsule ‘blows open’ with terrified family stuck inside
A family who rode the London Eye during Storm Henk were left ‘terrified’ after fierce winds tore open a hatch on the roof of their pod.
Gusts of up to 70mph battered the capital on Tuesday, downing trees and other structures and causing widespread travel disruption.
David Nock, from Bournemouth, said it ‘didn’t feel that windy’ when he and his family were walking around the city during a visit.
They noticed water being whipped up from the Thames but it was only after they boarded the 135m-tall ferris wheel that problems started.
David told BBC Radio Solent: ‘We got on, started to move and it was stop starting on the way up. As we got to the 12 o’clock top it stopped. The wind really started to howl.
‘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.’
Staff evacuated the entire wheel and closed it down while the damage was investigated and repaired.
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