A massive rescue operation involving the Jammu and Kashmir Police, State Disaster Response Force and the Indian Army was launched at Gulmarg Gondola after nearly 150 tourists were stranded mid-air due to a technical snag in the cable car service on Tuesday.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah deputed Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary to Gulmarg to oversee the rescue operations following a technical fault in the Gulmarg Gondola cable car.
Officials said the gondola service developed a fault, leaving several cabins suspended for some time and triggering panic among tourists. Rescue teams from the police, SDRF and Army rushed to the spot and jointly carried out an intensive evacuation operation under challenging conditions.
Authorities confirmed that all stranded tourists were rescued safely without any casualty. Medical teams and local administration also remained on standby during the operation. Eyewitnesses praised the swift response of rescue agencies, saying their timely intervention prevented a major mishap.
The gondola service was temporarily suspended following the incident, while technical experts started inspection of the system to ascertain the cause of the malfunction before restoration of operations.