ST. LOUIS — Several people were rescued by first responders Monday evening after getting stuck in a trams in the north leg of the Gateway Arch.
Five or six trams that transport sightseers to the top of the Arch became stuck, the St. Louis Fire Department Capt. Garon Mosby said. The rescue effort involved harnessing people and walking them across I-beams in the Arch's internal structure to get them to safety.
The passengers were all rescued by around 6 p.m. No one required medical treatment, Mosby said.
Pam Sanfilippo, program manager of Museum Services and Interpretation at the Gateway Arch National Park, said at about 3:18 p.m., the tram on the north leg stopped about 100 feet from the Arch's lower load zone, and mechanics started addressing the issue. The trams in each leg are all connected, so when one stops, they all stop, Sanfilippo said.
The pod-shaped trams seat five people each and transport passengers up the legs of the Arch to an observation deck at the structure's peak.
"We let passengers in the tram know we were on it and we'd get them out as quickly as possible and stayed in constant communication," Sanfilippo said. "But after about an hour, we knew it was gonna be a little bit longer, so we called in the St. Louis Fire Department, which is our protocol. And they were the ones who were able to help us get everybody out."
On Tuesday, Sanfilippo said the safety mechanism on the tram was triggered when it identified an issue with one of the cables. The safety system locked the tram in place, where they stayed until firefighters arrived.
"The system operated exactly as it was designed to do in such a situation to ensure the safety of passengers by stopping the tram," she said in a statement. "At all times, the passengers were safe and there was no risk of a critical failure in the system."
Sanfilippo said the north leg of the tram wouldn't be operational until cable system can be replaced and tested for safety. Trams on the south leg remained in service.
The 630-foot tall Gateway Arch has overlooked the St. Louis riverfront since its completion nearly 60 years ago.