8 Dead and Injured in Turkey Cable Car Accident... Over 180 Stranded in the Air

In Southern Resort Antalya... 1 Dead
Cabin Collides with Tower During Operation, Passenger Falls

A cable car accident occurred in Antalya, a famous resort area in T?rkiye, resulting in one death and seven injuries.

On the 12th (local time), Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency, AP News, and other foreign media reported that around 6 p.m., a cable car accident happened in a resort area on the outskirts of Antalya in southern T?rkiye. A 54-year-old Turkish man died, and seven people were injured, including six Turks and one Kyrgyzstani. Among the injured, two were reported to be children.

The scene of the cable car accident in Antalya, Turkey
[Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

The accident occurred when one cabin of the operating cable car collided with a steel tower, causing the passengers inside the cabin to fall down a mountainside. Additionally, the entire cable car system stopped due to the accident, leaving nearly 200 passengers trapped in other cabins in mid-air. Muhtin Bozcek, the mayor of Antalya, stated in a press release, "184 passengers in other cabins are trapped," and added, "A helicopter equipped with night vision goggles has been dispatched for rescue."

Photos from the scene reported by local Turkish media show a broken cabin hanging from the cable, with medical personnel and rescue workers attending to the injured. The injured have been transported to nearby hospitals for treatment.

The cable car, operated by the Antalya Metropolitan Municipality, runs between Konyaaltı Beach on the Mediterranean coast and the summit of Tunektepe. The day of the accident was the last day of the Eid al-Fitr holiday (the festival marking the end of Ramadan), during which AP News reported that family groups flock to coastal resorts.

Meanwhile, there have been recent cable car stoppage incidents in South Korea as well. On the 5th at around 3:33 p.m., one cable car of the Yeongnam Alps Eulgumgol Cable Car in Miryang, Gyeongnam, stopped. At the time of the accident, all cable cars were inside the upper and lower stations, so no cable car was hanging in mid-air, but 58 passengers at the upper station were stranded and unable to descend. Fire authorities and others used buses and walking paths to evacuate all stranded passengers by around 6 p.m., and the cable car operator refunded the fares to the passengers. A cable car official stated, "An abnormality occurred in the cable car drive components, and a safety inspection was conducted."

Also, last month, the Yeosu Marine Cable Car in Jeonnam stopped during operation, causing 60 passengers to endure about 30 minutes of fear in mid-air. On the 22nd of last month at 11:16 a.m., the Yeosu Marine Cable Car in Dolsan-eup, Yeosu City, stopped. At that time, there were about 40 cable car cabins in operation, carrying 60 passengers. The company operated the cable car in emergency mode to move the cabins with passengers to the station. After about 30 minutes, the passengers safely disembarked at the station.

The accident was caused by the breakage of some parts of the machine that pulls the cable car. When the parts broke, the cable car automatically stopped. The cable car safety inspection was conducted three months before the accident, in December of last year, and no problems were found at that time. The Yeosu Marine Cable Car also stopped twice in March and July 2019 due to lightning strikes and other issues.