Three young women working as promotional staff for a snack food company feared for their lives after their ferris wheel carriage door snapped off metres above Sydney's Circular Quay.
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The women were screaming and one had her hand crushed in the amusement ride mishap about an hour after the wheel started turning at the Overseas Passenger Terminal on Monday.
Mother Angie Kelly said her daughter, 24, had been in the carriage with two friends near the top of the ferris wheel when it became unstable and two of the women lurched onto their friend opposite.
Ms Kelly said two of the three women - who did not want to be named - were screaming and one of them had said "We're going to die".
"She ended up dangling on an angle from on high in a ferris wheel carriage after it came loose from the structure and the whole door fell off," Ms Kelly said.
"The door got caught on something and then fell off, crashing to the ground and leaving them exposed ... the carriage was swinging."
Her daughter had called her in tears and was "hysterical" soon after the incident, Ms Kelly said. One of the women was treated at Sydney Hospital for an injured hand.
"[My daughter] is OK, her two friends will live to tell the tale," Ms Kelly said. "But they're terribly shaken."
The ferris wheel was set up in the harbourside spot as part of the Smith's Snackfood Company's "Spin to Win" promotion.
Ms Kelly said her daughter should have been safe at work and she expected bolstered safety measures after the Dreamworld tragedy in 2016, when four people died after a ride malfunctioned.
"I would have thought corporate Australia would be paying close attention to making sure safety standards for trusting members of the public and workers were upheld to the highest degree," she said.
Police said emergency services were called to the Overseas Passenger Terminal after reports a woman's hand was trapped on the ferris wheel about 12.40pm.
Officers had helped the woman, 21, who was treated for bruises to her hand, a NSW Police spokeswoman said.
PepsiCo, which owns Smith's, confirmed a promotional team member had been treated for an arm injury and had since been released from hospital.
"Safety is our top priority, and we deeply regret that this occurred," a spokeswoman said in a statement.
"Comprehensive safety checks were undertaken and usage permits were granted before the ferris wheel was operational."
The ferris wheel had been immediately stopped when the incident occurred, the spokeswoman said.
"We are working closely with our supplier to understand how this happened," she said.
"The ferris wheel will not be operational until both PepsiCo and the relevant authorities are completely satisfied it is safe."
