Terrifying moment girl, 13, dangles almost 20 metres in air from Ferris wheel as onlookers heard screaming

This is the chilling moment a teenage girl was left hanging almost 20m in the air after she fell out of the pod of a Ferris wheel.

A teenage girl was left hanging almost 20 metres in the air after she fell out of the pod of a Ferris wheel.

Footage of the horror moment shows the 13-year-old desperately clinging to the metal structure as onlookers can be heard screaming, The Sun reports.

The incident took place on December 4 in the village where the girl lives in Rekehti in Pradesh State, India.

The girl was forced to support her full body weight or plunge to her death as ride operators figured out how to rescue her.

It is not clear exactly which pod she fell out of but the part of the metal the girl was holding onto was nearing the top of the ride so her pod was near its highest point when she fell.

But, before rescuers could get her down, the teenager had to go even higher as the wheel only travelled in one direction.

A video grab of a 13-year-old dangling 60-feet from the ground after falling out of her Ferris wheel pod. Picture: Jam Press

The teenage girl was left dangling almost 20 metres Picture: Jam Press

As other riders watched on from their pods, the girl followed instructions that were being shouted up to her.

She slowly readjusted her position on the wheel turning to face its centre and holding the bar above her with both hands.

Meanwhile, both of her feet rested on the wires below.

As a man started climbing the wheel, it began to move and the girl stayed stretched out as she went higher and higher into the air with no support.

The dramatic scenes unfolded at a fair in the girl’s home village of Rakehti in Uttar Pradesh State, India, located close to the border with Nepal. Picture: Jam Press

Sub-District Magistrate, Rajiv Nigam, confirmed that the teen was unharmed. Picture: Jam Press

But the truly terrifying moment happened after she reached the top. To get to safety, the girl had to descend with the turning of the wheel with her full weight resting on her upper body as the wheel turned her upside-down.

Her legs started to slip from their resting place as the weight got too much for her upper body.

At this point, the wheel started turning faster in a desperate effort to just get her down.

But the increased momentum of the wheel made it even harder for the girl to grip on and just as she neared the bottom her legs began flailing around.

Luckily, onlookers were ready to grab her as soon as she was within reach and she was carried to safety.

According to reports, the girl fell from the pod she was seated in due to a sudden jolt on the ride. Picture: Jam Press

The girl reportedly fell from her pod after a sudden jolt during the Ferris wheel ride.

Officials later confirmed that the girl was unharmed but the operators of the wheel did not have the correct permits for the ride.

There is now an investigation into how the ride was able to operate at the fair.

It comes just weeks after a man jumped out of a moving roller coaster in a move that may have saved his life.

A video from the Castles N’ Coasters amusement park in Phoenix, Arizona showed the man leaping from his seat after the safety harness came undone seconds before riders went down a huge drop.

“It was just adrenaline, and I didn’t want to die that day,” he told CBS affiliate KPHO-TV.

Over the summer the sun reported on the horror moment 28 thrill-seekers were left dangling upside-down 100 feet in the air after a ride broke down at the Oaks Amusement Park in Portland.

This article originally appeared in The Sun and has been reproduced with permission.