After an internet uproar, the owner of a German amusement park has promised to shut down a ride that looked to many like spinning swastikas— complete with eagle-shaped cars.

Rüdiger Braun, who runs Tatzmania outside Löffingen in southwest Germany, said he did not notice the Eagle Fly carousel resembled the Nazi symbol but “apologise[d] unreservedly to everyone who feels disturbed and insulted” and insisted the ride will be redesigned.

People on Reddit, however, were quick to notice the attraction’s shape after a video was uploaded to the site.

“I don’t know what it is but they look like swastikas” said one user.

The user posted the video, replied: “It’s a spinning ride in Germany. That…makes it worse”.

Another commenter was baffled no one spotted the likeness: “Not in the initial sketches. Not in the blueprints. Not in a computer design program. Not in the assembly. Not in the test runs…”

A visitor to the park was similarly surprised: “Of course you have to wonder how something like this can be built today because it really still is a sensitive topic, but on the other hand it’s the engineering and it just happens to look like that.”

Not everyone, however, supported the shutdown.

“I’m not bothered because I didn’t even notice that it looks like swastikas” said another visitor.

Mr Braun said he is working with the ride’s Italian manufacturer, who will be splitting the cost of the rebuild, to reduce the number of spinning eagles from four to three.

“Then we will have this problem under control,” he said.