Dozens stranded after fatal Turkey cable car crash
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Published53 minutes ago
Image source, Getty ImagesOne person has been killed and 10 others injured after a cable car cabin collided with a broken pole and burst open in southern Turkey.
Passengers plummeted to the ground following the crash on Friday evening after the supporting pylon collapsed near Antalya.
The whole cable car system was immobilised while emergency workers tried to evacuate stranded passengers.
An investigation into the accident has been opened, the justice ministry said.
According to Turkey’s disaster and emergency management agency a total of 128 passengers were rescued from the 16 cable cars on Friday night in Antalya’s Konyaaltı district.
But, officials said 43 passengers remained stranded by Saturday morning.
Seven helicopters and more than 500 rescuers, including specialist mountaineers, remained at the scene on Saturday, the Turkish interior ministry said in a social media post.
Turkey’s Health Minister Dr Fahrettin Koca also paid his respects on X.
“May God have mercy on our citizen who lost his life in the accident,” he said.
“I wish a speedy recovery to our injured, and I wish a speedy recovery to the rescued and waiting to be rescued victims.”
The cable car is run by the Antalya Metropolitan Municipality and carries tourists from Konyaalti beach to a restaurant and viewing platform at the summit of the 618m (2027ft) Tunektepe peak.
According to the information on its website, the cable car has 36 cabins with a capacity of six people each.
It takes an average of nine minutes to go uphill to the Tunektepe facility with panoramic views of Antalya.
