Hundreds rescued after Gulmarg cable car develops technical snag

Joint rescue teams of Police, Army SDRF along with DC and SSP are conducting the operation to ensure the safety of all tourists, Sinha posted on X.On June 25, 2017 the Gulmarg Gondola had earlier witnessed an accident , when seven people were killed after a tree uprooted by strong winds struck a cabin, causing it to crash to the ground.The cable car had also been temporarily suspended in January last year because of technical issues.

About 300 tourists were stranded aboard the largest cable car at a Gulmarg resort in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday after the cable car system developed technical problems, officials said.

Operations of both phases of the Gulmarg cable car service, popularly known as Gondola, were suspended following malfunction, they said. There were no casualties.

Officials said hundreds of tourists who were enjoying the ride, were rescued safely from the cabins by personnel of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), police, and army.

Restoration work on the cable car system is currently underway, they said.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said the government is ''closely monitoring'' the situation.

All cabins are intact and rescue operations to safely evacuate stranded tourists are underway with trained teams on the ground, the chief minister said in a post on X.

''The situation is completely under control and there is no cause for panic,'' he added.

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on said he had directed DGP Nalin Prabhat to proceed to the Gulmarg to oversee the recue operation.

''I'm monitoring the rescue operation for tourists stranded in cable car cabins following a technical fault in Gulmarg. I have directed the DGP to proceed to the site. Joint rescue teams of Police, Army & SDRF along with DC and SSP are conducting the operation to ensure the safety of all tourists,'' Sinha posted on X.

On June 25, 2017 the Gulmarg Gondola had earlier witnessed an accident , when seven people were killed after a tree uprooted by strong winds struck a cabin, causing it to crash to the ground.

The cable car had also been temporarily suspended in January last year because of technical issues.