HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) -
The monorail at Pearlridge
Center malfunctioned Monday night, stranding two families high above the mall's
parking lot until firefighters were able to rescue them.
Eight people in all, including
four young children, were carried down one by one on a ladder after the rail
cars suddenly stopped at about 7:30 p.m. The mall says both the main power
system and backup power system failed.
Captain Terry Seelig of
the Honolulu Fire Department said that no one on the train was in danger.
"The people were a little
bit worried, but we calmed them down and we basically brought them down," said
Capt. Seelig. "Walked them down the aerial after strapping them into a safety
rope system."
Firefighters say it took about two
hours to get everyone off of the monorail, and that one woman with a fear of
heights was the last person down.
Engineers say they are working on
repairs, but the monorail is not expected to be running on Tuesday.
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