More than 40 passengers were stranded in cable cars high above a mountain in southern Turkey on Saturday, 19 hours after one pod collided with a pole and burst open, killing one and wounding seven.
The disaster occurred at 5:30 p.m. on Friday at the Tunektepe cable car, just outside the Mediterranean resort of Antalya, during the crowded Eid al-Fitr holiday.
The rescue operations for the stranded passengers continued throughout the night.
The head of Turkey’s search and rescue organization, AFAD, Okay Memis, told the media on Saturday morning that “128 citizens in 16 pods have been rescued under difficult conditions.” “There are still eight pods left, and 43 more people need to be rescued,”
He added that rescuers hope to complete rescue operations before dark.
The casualties occurred when a pod hit a pole and burst open, sending its passengers plummeting to the mountainside below, officials said.
State media identified the deceased as a 54-year-old Turkish man. The injured were six Turkish citizens and one Kyrgyz national, including two children. They were rescued by Coast Guard helicopters.
A total of 543 first responders and seven helicopters are involved in the rescue operations, including teams from AFAD, the Coast Guard, firefighting teams and mountaineering teams from different parts of Turkey, officials said.
The cable car carries tourists from Konyaalti beach to a restaurant and viewing platform at the summit of the 2,010-foot Tunektepe peak. It is run by Antalya Metropolitan Municipality.
The cable car line was completed in 2017 and receives a major inspection around the beginning of the year, as well as routine inspections throughout the year.
