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19 March 2024

Ferris wheel catches fire at theme park

The giant Ferris wheel at Dinosaur Planet Park caught fire on Saturday afternoon. (Reuters)

Published
By AP

A fire which broke out on a Ferris wheel in Bangkok, Thailand on Saturday had forced a dinosaur-themed theme park to shut down operations for the day.

The fire started shortly after a Saturday afternoon thunderstorm in the Thai capital, but the park’s management said no one was on it at the time, and no injuries were reported.

On its Facebook page, the park said that no one was on the Ferris wheel at the time, with operations stopping before the rain, in line with safety measures.

The statement did not include details on how long it took to extinguish the fire. It said the park was investigating the cause of the blaze.

Photographs posted on social media showed fire rising from one of the capsules toward the top of the Ferris wheel, as black smoke billowed up.

The incident happened at around 3pm Saturday at Dinosaur Planet, which opened just a month ago. The fire appeared to have been extinguished.

Authorities had yet to determine whether the fire was related to a powerful thunderstorm which erupted earlier. However, local reports indicated power outages and transformers exploding in the same neighborhood.

Khaosod also reported that the park briefly resumed operations after the fire was extinguished, but revelers were asked to leave following a decision by the management.