Firefighters help evacuate riders from aerial ride at Mass. zoo

Thirty-two people were rescued from the aerial Skyfari gondola ride at Mendon’s Southwick Zoo on Monday, according to the Mendon Fire Department.

Emergency personnel arrived on scene after receiving calls around 3 p.m. from people stuck on the ride, which had a mechanical issue preventing it from moving. Zoo staff had already rescued most of the riders. However, firefighters, utilizing a ladder truck, evacuated “five occupants from two chairs located in difficult-to-access areas due to animal enclosures,” the fire department said.

There were no injuries reported. 

Firefighters were seen helping dozens of passengers to evacuate a stalled aerial ride over Southwick’s Zoo in Mendon, Massachusetts, on Monday.

Updates: https://t.co/zJ9A4VNjCK pic.twitter.com/6KZrPsxy9B

— WCVB-TV Boston (@WCVB) July 21, 2025

The malfunction was due to an issue with the ride’s emergency shutoff valve, according to WCVB.

The ride began slowing down and then halted, Bill Hekseth told NBC10 Boston.

Hekseth and his grandson were stuck on the ride for two hours since their gondola was one of the ones that was harder to access, he said. Zoo owner Betsey Brewer told NBC10 that riders were stuck for less than an hour.

The Skyfari ride, which opened in 2007, also malfunctioned in 2022 when 19 people were rescued from the ride due to an oil leak. Since the 2022 breakdown, the zoo has “maintained strict safety protocols, including mechanical and weather checks multiple times per day,” it said on Facebook. “This issue was unexpected and not something that could have been detected in advance.”

“The Skyfari will remain closed as we complete a full inspection to determine the root cause of the issue,” the zoo added.

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