A tourist was left dangling in mid-air for over an hour during a bungee-jumping mishap at the Macau Tower on Monday afternoon.
The man, who was about 30 years old and of Russian citizenship, got stuck after bungee jumping off the 61st-floor platform, according to Apple Daily. He was left dangling about 55 metres off the ground, in chilly temperatures between 6.8 to 8 degrees Celsius.
The tourist was rescued by firefighters using a ladder. According to the fire services, they had also arranged for rescuers to prepare to abseil from the top of the tower in case the fire truck was not able to get through on the narrow path.
The firefighters on the ladder cut through the ropes on either side and the tourist was lowered to the ground slowly by the attraction’s staff members. He was then taken to hospital after he complained of numbness in his legs and displayed signs of hypothermia.
The entire operation took around an hour from when the fire services were called.
The Macau Tower Convention & Entertainment Centre said a preliminary investigation by operator AJ Hackett found that the backup safety system was activated as the tourist was being lowered to the ground after his jump, stranding him in mid-air.
The company said that it will continue to investigate why the safety system was activated, and said it suspects that it may be related to the cold weather.
AJ Hackett said that there have been no other incidents since the attraction was introduced at the Macau Tower in 2006.
