San Diego Zoo

Skyfari Ride Passengers at the San Diego Zoo Get Stuck for Hour After Vandalism Caused Ride to Stop: SDPD

The actions of the vandalism caused the ride to stop working, the San Diego Police Department said

NBC Universal, Inc.

San Diego Fire crews rescued several passengers on the San Diego Zoo’s Skyfari gondola ride Saturday after they were stuck for about an hour due to vandalism, officials said.

Fire crews were called to the scene shortly after 4 p.m. tweeting that the ride was unstuck and passengers had all safely departed, adding that “some may need medical evaluation.”

According to the San Diego Police Department, four people between the ages of 20-24 were arrested for felony vandalism. The actions of the vandalism, which initially began around 2:10 p.m., caused the ride to stop working, SDPD said.

According to SDPD Officer Darius Jamsetjee, witnesses told police the four people arrested were rocking the gondola they were in back and forth. There was no immediate word on what the other actions of the vandalism were, SDPD said.

According to SDPD, around 100 people were on board the ride.

“We were walking around seeing the animals and then we look up and everyone’s stuck,” Jordan Gakstatter, a visitor at the San Diego Zoo, said.

Marissa Florendo, another visitor at the zoo, told NBC 7, “They had told everyone to get out of the line and we noticed as we were going through the park that pretty much it was stopped and people were up there for a really long time.”

Fire crews remained at the zoo until all passengers were safely on the ground.

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