3 rescued after being stranded 40 feet in air on Weirs zip line

LACONIA — A teenager whose zip line adventure went awry had to be rescued, along with two would-be rescuers, by firefighters.

Laconia firefighters had to use the department’s aerial ladder truck to reach the 16-year-old girl who had been dangling for about 30 minutes at the Monkey Trunks Zipline Park, at 379 Endicott Street North, in Weirs Beach, next to Funspot.

Fire Chief Kirk Beattie said the girl was zipping along one of the lines when she was unable to make the transition to the landing platform at the end of the line and then began to slide back down the line. She was left dangling 40 feet in the air over a pond, he said.

Two park employees then attached trolleys to the line and rode the wire to where the girl was. The two employees had hoped that together they could move the girl down the line to the closest landing platform, but were unable to do so, Beattie explained.

The Fire Department was notified just before 4:45 p.m. that three people were trapped on the zip line. Six pieces of fire apparatus, including the department’s aerial ladder truck, were sent to the scene. Using the ladder truck, personnel were able to bring the girl and the employees to safety in about 10 minutes, Beattie said. He estimated the girl was stranded in mid-air for between 30 to 40 minutes.

Once on the ground, the girl and one of the employees were evaluated by Fire Department EMTs. But neither needed to be taken to the hospital for treatment, Beattie said.