Calls have been made for lessons to be learned after a “terrifying” incident which led to people having to be winched to safety from a 174-ft tower by helicopter.

Fourteen people on the Jurassic Skyline tower, including an 11-month-old baby, had to be airlifted by the Coastguard Helicopter after becoming trapped up the attraction just after 2pm on Tuesday (5).

They were trapped for up to eight hours after a mechanical fault caused the gondola to stall on its ascent.

All were taken to Weymouth Pavilion to be checked over after the ordeal and one person was taken to Weymouth Hospital’s Minor Injuries Unit.

The Jurassic Skyline’s management team have apologised for what happened and have said they “will keep in touch with those rescued to offer any support they may need.”

Marketing manager of the Jurassic Skyline Raquel Cubillo said yesterday (6) that an investigation into what happened is underway and that “relevant teams are working very hard to rectify the fault so the tower can reopen as soon as possible.”

Jurassic Skyline has said that, along with the investigation, it will “implement any measures necessary to prevent any recurrence.”

However, some council and business leaders have asked questions about what contingency plans were in place.

President of Weymouth and Portland Chamber of Commerce Andrew Knowles said: “We have to accept that in any device like that the unexpected is going to happen from time to time and you would expect organisations to have some kind of contingency plans in place. I was disappointed that it did take quite such a long time to get people down.”

He added: “I think the tower is a great attraction, it offers a great view of the coast and it is important for the operators to have a plan of action to deal with future failures.”

Mayor of Weymouth and Portland Borough Council, Cllr Kevin Brookes, also suggested that some sort of contingency plan should be put in place for such incidents in future.

He added: “They probably spent a little bit too long sorting it out in-house before asking for help.”

The capsule became stuck just after 2pm and Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue were called to the scene at 4.12pm.

Cllr Jason Osborne, who represents Melcombe Regis for Weymouth and Portland Borough Council, likewise expressed concerns.

He said: “I would like to see exactly what it is that was in place to stop something like this from happening and what will be in place now it has happened, what lessons have been learned, what was the maintenance schedule and was it kept up to?”

He also said: “I can only imagine how terrifying it must have been.”

However, Cllr Tia Roos, who also represents Melcombe Regis for the borough council, said she knew the staff would have done their best to deal with the incident.

She said: “I think they had everyone there, the fire and the police, and they would have had electricians there also – I don’t think they could have done anymore.”