Tragedy Strikes in Antalya: One Dead, Dozens Stranded After Cable Car Accident
In a tragic turn of events, one person lost their life and 10 others were left injured in the southern Turkish province of Antalya. The incident occurred when a cable car cabin collided with a broken pole, causing passengers to plummet to the mountainside below.
At 5:23 p.m. (14:23 GMT) on Friday, twenty-four cabins were left stranded in the air, with many people still stuck in the remaining nine cabins. The interior ministry reported that 112 individuals had been successfully rescued, but more than 40 individuals remain trapped high above the mountain even 19 hours after the accident.
Rescue Operations in Full Swing
The accident took place on the Tunektepe cable car, just outside the bustling Mediterranean city of Antalya during the busy Eid al-Fitr holiday. Throughout the night, operations to rescue the stranded individuals continued relentlessly.
Okay Memis, director of the Turkish search and rescue agency AFAD, shared, “128 citizens in 16 pods have been rescued under difficult conditions. The rescue of 43 others in eight remaining pods is ongoing.” He expressed hope that rescue operations will be completed before nightfall.
Debris and Chaos
Passengers were sent hurtling down to the mountainside below as the pod collided with the pole on Friday. The state-run Anadolu Agency identified the deceased as a 54-year-old Turkish man, while the injured included six Turkish citizens and one Kyrgyz national, including two children. Coast Guard helicopters were deployed for the rescue mission.
Images in Turkish media depicted the battered car swaying precariously from dislodged cables on the rocky mountain as medics tended to the wounded.
Massive Rescue Effort
A total of 543 first responders and seven helicopters are actively involved in the rescue operations. Teams from AFAD, the Coast Guard, firefighting units, and mountaineering teams from various parts of Turkey have rallied together to aid in the rescue efforts.
Investigations Underway
As the Antalya Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launches an investigation, an expert commission comprising mechanical and electrical engineers along with health and safety experts has been tasked with determining the cause of the tragic incident.
