More than 40 people remained stuck in cable cars at the top of a mountain in southern Turkey on Saturday, 19 hours after one of the cable cars collided with a pole and exploded, killing one person and wounding seven.
The accident occurred around 5:30 p.m. Friday on the Tunctepe cable car outside the Mediterranean city of Antalya during the busy Eid al-Fitr holiday. Rescue operations for stranded people continued throughout the night.
“128 citizens were rescued in 16 rooms under difficult conditions,” Ukay Mimi, director of the Turkish Search and Rescue Agency AFAD, told the media on Saturday morning. “The rescue operation for 43 others in eight remaining cabins is still ongoing.”
He added that rescuers hope to complete rescue operations before dark.
Officials said the casualties occurred when a cabin hit a pole and exploded, sending its occupants falling to the mountainside below.
The state-run Anadolu Agency identified the deceased as a 54-year-old Turkish man. The wounded are six Turkish citizens and a Kyrgyz citizen, including two children. They were rescued by Coast Guard helicopters.
Pictures published by Turkish media showed the wrecked car swaying due to dislodged wires on the side of the rocky mountain while paramedics treated the wounded.
A total of 543 responders and seven helicopters are participating in the rescue operations, including teams from natural disaster management, coast guard, firefighting teams and mountaineering teams from different parts of Turkey, officials said.
Friday was the last day of a three-day public holiday in Turkey marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan, which sees families flock to seaside resorts.
A cable car takes tourists from Konyaaltı Beach to a restaurant and viewing platform at the top of the 2,010-foot Tunktepe Peak. It is operated by Antalya Metropolitan Municipality. The cable car line was completed in 2017 and undergoes a major inspection around the beginning of the year, in addition to routine inspections throughout the year.
The Antalya Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation. An expert committee was formed, including mechanical and electrical engineers and health and safety experts, to determine the cause of the accident.
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