Cardiff Winter Wonderland: Sky Swing Carriages Collide 200 Feet Up In The Air [Video]

The video shows the moment two carriages on the 200 foot-high Sky Swing at the Cardiff Winter Wonderland collided while spinning up in the air. Despite the terrifying incident, more people queued up for a ride soon after on Friday.

The three-minute video, posted to Facebook by Leanne Williams, who was visiting the Winter Wonderland located near the National Museum Cardiff, shows the carriages of the Sky Swing spinning normally when a sudden gust of wind caused a light empty carriage to go out of control, swinging out of sync with the others and finally straying towards a carriage carrying two people.

The video shows the empty carriage swinging wildly, and moments later, colliding with another carriage in which terrified people were sitting.

The collision drew a gasp of shock from spectators below, some of whom had remarked just a moment before about how close together some of the carriages appeared to be.

“The empty swings are going crazy. Oh my God, I can’t watch. That empty swing is actually quite scary. Oh my God it has actually hit them. They’ve stopped the ride.”

The Sky Swing shut down automatically immediately after the carriages collided, leaving the passengers dangling nearly 200 feet up in the air for about 15 minutes before they were lowered to the ground.

The incident at Winter Wonderland was captured on camera by spectators filming the Sky Swing ride from the ground. A woman described it as the “scariest moment of my life.”

Williams, who filmed the incident and posted it to Facebook, used the video to warn people planning to visit Cardiff Winter Wonderland about the danger of riding on the Sky Swing.

“Just a warning to anyone who goes to Winter Wonderland (Cardiff) be aware of this ride. Watch and see what happens. Scariest moment of my life.”

As a precaution to avoid future accidents, operators of the Sky Swing ride were ensuring that all carriages were occupied before the ride starts. The accident happened because empty carriages are light enough to be blown by high winds.

Despite the terrifying incident, a new queue of eager visitors formed soon after, and the ride re-opened once the wind eased. The fresh batch of passengers had to wait several minutes for each of the carriages to be filled before the ride took off.

But the Daily Mail reports that David Williams, 36, who rode on the Sky Swing a few days after the incident, said he was not aware that an accident had occurred. Other riders, such as Iestyn Thomas, 18, saw the video of the accident yet went on the ride soon after.

“I saw it on Facebook and my mate bet me I wouldn’t go on it. It was fine but we had to wait a while until all the seats were full. I made my mate come on it with me and he was more scared.”

According to BBC News, Sayers Amusements, operators of the Sky Swing at Winter Wonderland, touted as the “world’s tallest portable swing,” insisted that it was safe.

“It took less than five minutes to get all gondolas unloaded. No one was hurt as the safety system was working correctly at all times, and a full explanation was given to everyone on the ride, and they were all given a full refund, and all stayed onsite for a while afterwards,” a spokesperson of the company said.

He explained that the amusement park ride was designed to shut down by itself to avoid accidents.