A cable car carrying passengers crashed into parts of the metal structure supporting it in a mountainous region of southern Turkey on Friday, leaving eight terrified passengers on the rocky hills below. fell down the slope.
One passenger was killed, seven injured and nearly 200 more trapped in separate cabins in the air, some overnight and then for hours into Saturday afternoon, as rescuers tried to pry passengers from the paralyzed line. I tried to release it.
Turkey's interior minister said a total of 174 people were evacuated as helicopters, cranes and hundreds of rescue workers were dispatched to the area. Those affected included children, local residents and foreign tourists stranded in huts, some dozens of meters above ground in the Saris district of Antalya province, officials said.
Interior Minister Ali Erikaya announced on social media that 13 people were taken to hospital for treatment.
Cable cars usually carry passengers to the top of a steep, wooded mountain with panoramic views of the hills, Antalya city, and the Mediterranean Sea. Friday night may have been especially busy for tourists. The weekend began as Muslims celebrated Eid, a multi-day holiday that marks the end of Ramadan.
According to Demiroren, at around 6pm local time on Friday, a pole that was part of the system snapped and crashed into one of the cabins, causing major damage and the floor on which eight passengers were standing suddenly peeling off. and fell onto the rocky ground. The news agency reported.
One passenger, a 54-year-old man, who fell from the damaged cable car died at the scene, and seven others were injured, Demirolén said. Antalya Mayor Muhytin Bocek told reporters at the scene that at least three more people were injured during rescue operations.
Images from the scene showed a mangled car with its floor missing and windows shattered, hanging on the ground in the dim evening light. Other cabins, many with shaken crews still inside, stretched back and forth along the long cables of the track, dangling like little orange fruits from the vines on the rocks and trees below. .
A tall crane rose near some of the cars, extending to reach them. Elsewhere, emergency workers wearing mountaineering helmets ran down ropes to rescue trapped occupants. Metal baskets were used to transport the injured by helicopter.
In one instance, a female passenger wearing high-heeled sandals with a small child strapped to her chest was evacuated by safety straps and slowly lowered to the ground. One of the rescue workers evacuated by sitting on the cable car, while other passengers waited their turn inside.
The rescuers managed evacuate 137 people Work continued overnight and into Saturday morning, with officials finally announcing they were finished Saturday afternoon. Almost a full day has passed since the accident caused the vehicles on the line to stop in place.
At noon, passengers in five cabins were still waiting to be evacuated, making the process a systematic and dangerous operation.
“The air flow is unstable and the wind is blowing,” Turkey's emergency authority chief Oke Memis said in a televised address, making it difficult for helicopters to fly near the site. He added that there is. “Rescue operations are taking place in a very rugged area.”
Memis said field personnel were in constant contact with stranded riders.
Turkey's justice minister said prosecutors had opened an investigation into the accident and experts had been appointed to determine the root cause and responsibility.
All 24 cabins on the cable car line were in the air when the accident occurred. Many of the small cars, listed as having a capacity of eight people, were carrying adults and children. The line opened in 2017 and starts near the picnic area and provides direct access to the observation deck, shops and cafes at the top.
Mayor Bocek, whose city operates the cable line, said in a televised address that weekly and monthly maintenance of the cable line has been completed.
Deniz Yavdilmaz, an official of Mr. Bozek's party, said the most recent annual maintenance took place from February 19 to March 4 of this year.
