Panic gripped a tourist resort in Jammu and Kashmir's Gulmarg on Monday after several cabins of a cable car got stranded mid-air with hundreds of tourists onboard. The incident took place due to a technical malfunction in the cable car, the official said.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah took to X and said that he was aware of the incident and was monitoring it.
CM Abdullah's office wrote, "Government is closely monitoring the situation at the Gulmarg Gondola after the cable car service was temporarily halted due to a technical fault. All cabins remain intact, and rescue operations to safely evacuate stranded tourists are underway with trained teams on the ground."
"The situation is completely under control, and there is no cause for panic," it further added.
A video of the rescue has been shared by the Indian Army's Northern Command. In a post on X, the army said, "Large Scale Rescue Operations at Gulmarg Gandola by Trained Teams in Progress."
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"Swift and coordinated rescue efforts by Chinar Corps, Indian Army and Gulmarg Gandola operators are underway after ropeway cabins got stranded mid-air," it added.
"65 cabins were stranded, and till now 80 passengers from 16 cabins have been safely rescued. Rescue operations for the remaining cabins are in progress," it added.
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According to a report by news agency PTI, the stranded tourists were rescued from their respective cabins by personnel of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) in a joint rescue mission. The rescue efforts were also aided by SF Spl CI teams, HAWAS and the Jammu and Kashmir Police (JKP).
The officials said that operations of both phases of India's largest cable car service, popularly known as Gondola, were suspended following a malfunction.
They added that the restoration work on the cable car system was currently underway.