Fatal cable car accident in TurkeyThe last of 174 people stranded in cable cars high above a mountain in southern Turkey were rescued Saturday, nearly 23 hours after one pod hit a pole and split open, killing one and wounding seven as they plunged to the rocks below.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya hailed the successful conclusion of the rescue operation on Saturday afternoon.
Officials said that 607 search and rescue workers and ten helicopters were participating, including teams from Turkey’s emergency response agency, AFAD, the Coast Guard, firefighting teams, and mountain rescue teams from various parts of the country. Helicopters with night vision had been rescuing people throughout the night.
What exactly happened?
According to Anadolu, the incident happened when one of the cable car masts toppled over.
After then, one of the pods struck the pole and broke apart, sending its occupants hurtling onto the nearby mountainside.
Until they could be rescued—possibly a day later—the remaining passengers were stuck in the other pods.
“We were terrified that night, it was terrible. Children were with us, and they passed out,” a traveler reported to Anadolu.
“Spending seven hours up there was agony. It is swaying every second, and terror is all you can think about. It was rather upsetting, and I’m not sure how we’ll move past it.”
The stranded passengers had been stuck on the Tunektepe cable car, located outside the Mediterranean city of Antalya, since 5:30 p.m. on Friday, when the disaster happened.