Dozens of people on the Bronx Zoo’s Skyfari ride were stranded more than 100 feet in the air for about five hours last night when the tram broke down.
“My son was really, really frightened,” said Olga Perez, of New City, who was on the ride.
“I said, ‘Everything’s going to be OK.’
“One of my nephews got scared. He was screaming, ‘I can’t take this anymore!’ ”
The nephews and son were in another car, and Perez had to talk to them by cellphone.
The cars, which glide along cables 112 feet in the air, ground to a halt at 5:27 p.m., with 30 adults and seven children on board, police said.
The last passengers got off at 10:20 p.m. There were no injuries, but a pregnant woman was taken to Jacobi Hospital for observation.
The shutdown was caused by a wheel on top of one of the 14 cars slipping off the cable. Then a safety mechanism tripped, causing the power to shut down.
The ride, which dates back to 1973, passes over several zoo attractions – including an area where lions roam free and a baboon reserve.
Members of the FDNY’s Rescue 3 and the NYPD’s Emergency Services Unit used a special bucket-equipped crane brought in from Queens to pluck the riders off the crippled car.
They took Perez, her 14-year-old daughter and a relative from Colombia to safety shortly at 8:15 p.m., cops said.
“We were trying to calm ourselves,” Perez said. “Deep in my heart I knew I was going to take it a little bit at a time.”
Perez said firefighters gave them some water while trying to free them.
After fixing the broken car, authorities worked to get the ride operating again, and it resumed running at about 10 p.m.
Police were looking into whether high winds from a thunderstorm that had passed minutes earlier caused the malfunction, the first in the ride’s history.
“It was a little cold,” said Robin Dean, 25, another trapped passenger. “It was kind of boring to be up there by ourselves.”
Dean was with a friend and the pal’s 1-year-old son. “The baby slept most of the time,” she said.
John Cavelli, a senior vice president with the Wildlife Conservation Society, which runs the zoo, issued “a heartfelt apology to our guests and their families.”
More than 100 firefighters, paramedics and cops responded. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly also rushed to the scene.
Area residents crowded onto Southern Boulevard to try to catch a glimpse of the drama.
“It’s a sad thing. It’s dangerous, especially with the weather like this,” said Millie Carrero, 58.
“Since my daughter was a baby I’ve taken her here. Thirty-eight years I’ve come here and this never happens.”
In 2006, the Roosevelt Island Tram ground to a halt, leaving 69 passengers, including a dozen children, suspended over the East River.
Additional Reporting by Philip Messing and Ed Robinson