People who were trapped in a cable car accident in Turkey were rescued

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ISTANBUL — The last of 174 people trapped in cable cars over a mountain in southern Turkey were brought to safety on Saturday, nearly 23 hours after a sinkhole hit a pole and exploded, killing one and injuring seven. .

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Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya X announced the successful completion of the rescue operation on Saturday afternoon.

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A total of 607 search and rescue personnel and 10 helicopters, including the Turkish Emergency Management Agency, AFAD, coast guard, fire brigades and mountain rescue teams from different regions of Turkey, are on the ground, officials said. Night vision helicopters continued to rescue people throughout the night.

People have been stranded on the Tunektepe cable car outside the Mediterranean city of Antalya since 5:30 p.m. on Friday, when the accident happened.

Istanbul resident Hatice Polat and her family were rescued after a seven-hour ordeal. Speaking to Anadolu Agency, he said that the power went out and the pod overturned four or five times.

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“The night was terrible, we were very scared. There were children with us and they lost their minds,” he said. “There was torture there for seven hours. It swings every second, and you are constantly in fear. … It was very painful, and I don't know how we will overcome this injury.”

The state Anadolu Agency found that the deceased was a 54-year-old Turkish citizen. Among the injured are two children, six are Turkish and one is Kyrgyz. All of them were rescued by Coast Guard helicopters shortly after the accident and sent for treatment. Pictures in Turkish media showed the stricken vehicle dangling from severed cables on the side of a rocky mountain as medics treated the wounded.

Yerlikaya reported that 13 people rescued from other vehicles were taken to hospitals for examination.

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Friday was the last day of a three-day public holiday marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in Turkey, where families flock to coastal resorts.

A cable car takes tourists from Konyaalti Beach to the restaurant and viewing platform at the top of the 618-meter (2,010-foot) Tunektepe Peak. It is managed by Antalya City Administration. The cable car network was completed in 2017 and receives a major inspection at the beginning of the year as well as scheduled inspections throughout the year.

The General Prosecutor's Office of Antalya has started an investigation. An expert commission consisting of engineer-mechanic-electrical engineer, labor protection and safety experts was appointed to determine the cause of the incident.

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