In Antalya, Turkey, a tragic cable car accident left one person dead and seven injured when a cable car pod hit a pole and burst open, sending passengers falling to the mountainside below. Among the injured were two children. The deceased was a 54-year-old Turkish man, and the injured included six Turkish citizens and one Kyrgyz national. The accident occurred during the busy Eid al-Fitr holiday, with scores of other people left stranded as the entire cable car system was brought to a standstill. The rescue operation involved over 160 first responders, including air crews from the Coast Guard and mountaineering teams from various parts of Turkey.
Efforts to rescue the injured were ongoing, with helicopters transferring five of the injured individuals off the mountain. The rescue operation continued for hours, with 184 passengers trapped in 25 other cable car pods above the ground. Engineers worked to restart the system, as helicopters with night vision imaging were dispatched to the site to aid in the rescue efforts. By midnight, 49 people had been rescued from the suspended pods, but 135 remained stranded. Images in Turkish media showed the damaged car swaying from dislodged cables on the rocky mountain as medics tended to the wounded.
The cable car accident occurred on the final day of a three-day public holiday in Turkey, marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The cable car was a popular tourist attraction, carrying visitors from Konyaalti beach to a restaurant and viewing platform at the summit of the Tunektepe peak. Operated by the Antalya Metropolitan Municipality, the incident prompted an investigation by the Antalya Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. An expert commission, consisting of mechanical and electrical engineers, as well as health and safety experts, was tasked with determining the cause of the accident.
The tragic accident was a devastating incident during a time when families were enjoying the holiday festivities and flocking to coastal resorts. The Tunektepe cable car system was a significant tourist attraction, providing visitors with stunning views of the surrounding area from the 618-meter peak. The incident raised concerns about the safety of cable car systems and the importance of regular maintenance and safety checks to prevent such accidents from occurring in the future. The local authorities and investigators were working diligently to determine the cause of the accident and ensure that necessary measures were put in place to prevent similar tragedies from happening again.
