Himachal: Tourists at Timber Trail rescued after six hours

Ambika Sharma

Solan, June 20

Eleven tourists, including five women, were stranded for hours on a ropeway 150 feet above the ground when the shaft of the cable car of Timber Trail Resort broke around 10.30 am today near Parwanoo. They were, however, rescued safely by 5 pm by teams of the NDRF, local administration and the resort.

The cable car got stuck on the 2.8-km-long ropeway barely 200 metres after the take-off from the hilltop.

200 metres after take-off at 10.30 am, cable car’s shaft breaks

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3 hours after the incident, rescue op begins; NDRF team pitches in

10 tourists belonged to Delhi while one hailed from Haryana

“We had taken off around 10.15 am from Hotel Moksha on the hilltop and minutes later the cable car stopped with a jerk. We were informed by the trolley assistant that the power connection had snapped and an inverter would be activated. Later, we were told that a major snag had developed and its restoration would take 36 hours, though we were assured that we would be rescued soon,” said Rajesh Garg, a rescued tourist.

Similar mishap 30 yrs ago

• A similar incident at Timber Trail occurred 30 years ago in which one person was killed
• In October 1992, 10 of the 11 stuck persons were rescued by Army and Air Force, while cable car operator died

In April, 3 died in Jharkhand

• Nearly two months ago, 15 tourists were trapped on a ropeway at Trikut Hills in Jharkhand for 40 hours
• 12 of them were rescued by Indian Air Force helicopters while three died on April 11

Recounting the ordeal, Garg said: “Within minutes, two resort staff members arrived in a trolley on a parallel ropeway, and rudely directed us to abseil down into the valley using a rope. Since there were several elderly people, some with kidney and heart ailments, knee pain, etc, we could not muster the courage to leave the cable car.”

Social media came in handy as some tourists uploaded their videos and sought help from their near and dear ones. “There was a sudden change in the resort staff’s behaviour when mediapersons started enquiring about the incident,” added Garg. The tourists started losing their patience and started showing signs of discomfort as no professional help came for the next 3 hours. Around 2 pm, the district administration assured the tourists of all help. The occupants were shifted to a rescue trolley on a parallel ropeway and then asked to abseil down to the forest below with a safety rope.

Stuck at a height created fear and brought reservations in the minds of the stranded. However, after Chirag—a tourist in his early thirties and the youngest in the group—agreed to abseil down, the others gained some confidence. Seven tourists were successfully rescued before the arrival of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team.

A team of medical staff was rushed to the spot to examine the tourists, who were visibly shaken but found to be fine.

Chief Minister Jai Ram who visited the spot said the incident would be inquired into and action would be taken against those responsible for the lapses. “Tourists’ safety is our priority and it should be ensured that periodical maintenance of all ropeways is undertaken,” the CM added.

“We spent six hours praying and are thankful to Anand Goyal, a tourist who contacted his near and dear ones for help,” said another tourist.

Manoj Goyal, who undergoes dialysis twice a week, said he had almost lost hope of reuniting with his family.

The stranded tourists comprised Kanika Garg (51), Anju Garg (47), Dimple Goyal (51), Anand Goyal (52), Sheetal Gupta (52), Reeta Goyal (54), Rajesh Garg (50), Manoj Goyal (57), Gopal Gupta, (55) Praveen Garg (49) and Chirag. Chirag is a resident of Jind in Haryana while all others hail from Delhi, said Solan SP Virender Sharma.

The resort management said the occupants refused to follow the evacuation procedures and did not give consent for the rescue by winch harness, delaying the operation. The cable operations, meanwhile, have been suspended.