- 320 tourists stranded mid-air, evacuated safely
- Police, Army, SDRF, F&ES, NDRF lead rescue operation
- Chopper pressed into service; 75 cabins cleared in 7 hours
- SHO first responder, all passengers safe, no injuries: DGP
- MD JKCCC says situation brought under control
Ovaise Gul
Srinagar, May 25: A major tragedy was averted at the famous ski resort Gulmarg on Monday after a technical snag in the Gondola cable car service left several tourists and local visitors stranded mid-air, with rescue teams evacuating 320 tourists in a seven-hour-long operation from around 1:20 PM to 8:00 PM.
The sudden technical snag halted Gondola operations this afternoon, leaving around 400 tourists stranded in 75 cabins, forcing the suspension of operations and creating panic among tourists.
Soon after the incident, rescue teams comprising four stations of Fire & Emergency Services (Kunzer, Gulmarg, Tangmarg, and Wanigam) led by ADGP F&ES Alok Kumar (IPS), eight teams of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) led by SSP Masroor Ahmad, teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), J&K Police, Army, civil administration, and technical experts immediately began evacuation efforts.
Rescue teams from Gondola Cable Car, Gulmarg Police, SOG, Snow Leopards, personnel of J&K Armed Police (including 14 Mountain Rescue Teams), 9 Rajputana Rifles, and HAWS were also part of the rescue operation. A helicopter was also pressed into service to ensure no tourist was left stranded.
Around 100 skiers volunteered to be part of the rescue operation and assisted official rescue teams.
Director General of Police (DGP) Nalin Prabhat, along with senior police officers S.J.M. Gillani and Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir Zone V.K. Birdi, visited Gulmarg following the incident. The DGP said the first responder was SHO Gulmarg, who, along with personnel from the Police Station and SOG, reached the spot to launch the rescue operation.
“320 tourists stranded in the cabins were successfully evacuated amid inclement weather conditions. Among them were 45 tourists who were not physically fit and had been brought down on stretchers. No injury was reported during the incident,” the DGP said.
Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudary also visited Gulmarg to oversee the rescue operation. On the instructions of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, the Deputy Chief Minister personally oversaw the rescue operation, with local MLA Farooq Shah also monitoring the situation closely.
Syed Qamar Sajad, Managing Director of the J&K Cable Car Corporation, said the situation was brought under control. Gondola services were temporarily halted as engineers and technical teams carried out inspections to identify and rectify the fault.
The Gulmarg Gondola, regarded among Asia’s highest cable car networks and a key attraction in Kashmir, draws large numbers of tourists during the peak season.
