7 die in Gulmarg cable car crash

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, June 25

Seven persons, including four of a family from Delhi’s Shalimar Bagh and three tourist guides, were killed today when a cable car, Gulmarg Gondola, came crashing down after its ropeway  snapped in a freak accident. 

Uprooted by strong winds, a pine tree hit the cable car lift. The impact was such that it snapped the cable and the car cabin went hurtling hundreds of metres down, said Inspector General of Police (IGP) Muneer Ahmad Khan.

More than 100 tourists were stranded on the ropeway following the mishap in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district. 

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“The police are combing the forest area for more victims,” Baramulla SSP Imtiyaz Hussain Mir said. The victims were identified as Jayant Andraskar, his wife Mansha, their daughters Anagha and Janhvi and locals Mukthar Ahmad Ganai, Farooq Ahmad Chopan and Jehangir Ahmad Khanday. Tariq Ahmad and Ajaz Ahmad, both residents of Pachhar, who were injured, were taken to a hospital in Srinagar.

 It is the first such disaster on the project which has 36 cabins and 18 towers. A joint venture of the Jammu and Kashmir Government and a French firm, it is hugely popular with tourists who flock to Gulmarg, a skiing hub. 

Every year, thousands of visitors ride the lift which slides above the conifer trees dotting the way right up to the Affarwat  heights (13,400 ft).” We are resuming the ropeway to rescue the 100 people who have been stranded. We are also ready with the manual rescue operation,” said Riyaz Ahmad, General Manager, Jammu and Kashmir State Cable Car Corporation, which runs Gulmarg Gondola.

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah questioned why the cable car service had not been suspended as a precautionary measure because of the high-velocity winds. “What terrible news,” he tweeted. “...it begs the question as to why the cable car operations weren’t suspended in high winds. That’s a laid down SOP [standard operating procedure],” he posted on the Twitter.