London Eye capsule blown OPEN by Storm Henk’s 94mph winds as terrified family cower inside at top of 443ft attraction
A TERRIFIED family have told how they were on the London Eye when Storm Henk blew off the roof of their pod off.
David Nock and 11 family members, including five children aged between 11 and 15, were 400ft up the attraction when a service hatch was ripped off in high winds.
The access hatch was left dangling by metal wires and making a horrific crunching sound as the pod on the 1,700 tonne wheel rotated its way back down.
The family watched on as a maintenance crew tried to fix the broken pod and described the whole experience as terrifying.
The popular tourist attraction was later closed “due to adverse weather conditions”.
Mr Nock, 43, who is an IT consultant from Bournemouth, said: “We were right at the top and there were very high winds and the service hatch on the pod got blown off.
“There were metal wires that hold it on and it was hanging on by those. We were stuck at the top for a good five minutes. The whole thing was stopping and starting and moving side to side.
“As the wheel moves, the pods rotate and as we were on the way down it was crunching so we called the emergency crew.
“The noise was quite deafening, it was a bit of harrowing experience. The kids all found it terrifying.
“We had pre-booked it and actually moved it forward by an hour so we could get back. I think if we had gone on the one we were meant to it would have been cancelled.”
The dramatic incident happened yesterday afternoon when Storm Henk brought winds of up to 80mph.
The London Eye’s website says it is designed to operate safely in almost all weather conditions, but does occasionally close due to weather conditions.
The attraction was shut in February 2022 when Storm Eunice battered the country with winds of up to 100mph.
Brits had been told not to leave their homes during the storm yesterday, with forecasters issuing a danger to life warning.
It comes as…
- Storm Henk today caused travel chaos after the UK braved 94mph winds overnight
- UK weather map reveals areas worst hit by the extreme wind and floods as drivers are pulled from motors
- A castle’s thousand-year-old stone tower crumbled after being battered by the storm
- A picturesque market town was hit by a 2.5 magnitude earthquake at 5.30pm on Tuesday
- Greater Anglia said train services are experiencing “severe disruptions”
And today West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) has urged drivers to avoid flooded roads after several terrifying incidents on Tuesday night.
In Birmingham a brave passer-by rescued a three-year-old child and a driver from a car submerged in flood water.
The hero then secured the vehicle to the bridge to prevent it being washed away, local cops said.
A father also rescued an unresponsive woman from the freezing River Severn in Worcester after spotting her “floating like a mannequin”.
Families were even forced to abandon their caravans in the Billing Aquadrome in Northampton, this afternoon, thanks to the torrid conditions.
And tragically a man was pronounced dead when his car was hit by a tree eight miles north of Malmesbury.
The A433 remains closed in both directions between Cirencester and Tetbury.
A lastminute.com spokesperson told The Sun the attraction was closed for a brief period of time and apologised for any inconvenience.