Galway Bay fm newsroom - Galway City Council says the big wheel at the Christmas Market has been fully certified as safe following an investigation into last evening's incident.
The fault, which saw up to 20 people stranded mid-air for several hours, was caused by an electrical failure.
Just minutes after the official launch of the 2017 Galway Christmas Market, the iconic big wheel at the top of Eyre Square suddenly stopped turning.
There were up to 20 people on the attraction at the time - and fire crews were forced to use cherry pickers to supply blankets and hot drinks to those affected.
They were eventually released at ground level after crews manually rotated the wheel.
No injuries were reported during the ordeal, which lasted several hours.
The City Council has now issued a statement which attributes the incident to an electrical fault.
It says following inspections by an approved assessor, a new safety certificate has been issued by Health, Safety and Accident Investigation Services to the operator of the market.
It adds that the local authority had previously been supplied with all necessary certification as required under regulations and event licensing.
The big wheel has since resumed operation at Eyre Square.
