Watch: People Stranded 170 Feet Above Ground On Fairground Ride Rescued

Several people including children were left stranded at the top of a fairground ride for over 10 hours, after it broke down in Brittany's capital Rennes , France on New Year’s Eve.

The people on the ride, six adults and two children, were stranded 170ft high, above the ground because of which, the fire fighters had to be lowered by helicopters as the ladder was woefully short.

Sparks were seen coming out of the Bomber Maxx spinning ride’s engine around 8.30pm local time (2.30 p.m. EST) after which the ride suddenly broke down. The ride’s operators tried restarting the machine for an hour before calling in firefighters. Though the firefighters reached the scene within no time, the rescue operation started a full eight hours later. While the first person was rescued around 4.30 am local time Tuesday (10.30 pm EST, Monday), the last person was rescued two hours later, the Sun reported.

"The rescue operation is taking longer than expected. The rescue operation could still take at least two more hours," local journalist Samuel Nohra had tweeted .

"The Firefighters will go up to 52m and then make the 8 people abseiling including two children stranded. They are well and have to be patient,” Nohra had initially tweeted .

Images from the scene show a helicopter flying in to rescue the people, with a rope attached to it.

Video footages from the scene show ride-goers legs were dangling even as they wait to be rescued.

One of the ride-goers was Leo who was celebrating his 17th birthday. His mother and other relatives waited in a nearby restaurant.

Another person named Nicolas offered his mobile phone, so that the people stuck on the ride could contact their loved ones.

“I’m 47 and this is the first big fright of my life. At the top, everyone was calm, we talked to each other, we wished each other a happy New Year. Next year I will stay home with some petit fours and champagne,” he said, the Metro reported.

Some of them took a while to walk straight after being stuck in the air in cold temperatures for several hours.

One of them was 13-year-old Luna who stumbled as she greeted her mother with a tight hug.

“I’d give her the biggest hug she’s ever had,” the mother said.