Forces brave rain, rough terrain: DGP Prabhat
Srinagar: A major rescue operation launched after a technical malfunction in the Gulmarg Gondola cable car system stranded hundreds of tourists mid-air in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district was successfully concluded on Monday evening, with all 320 tourists evacuated safely.
Officials said the rescue operation, jointly carried out by the Indian Army, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Jammu and Kashmir Police, civil administration and other agencies, ended without any casualty or injury.
Director General of Police Nalin Prabhat said the incident occurred at around 1:20 PM when a technical fault forced several gondola cabins carrying tourists to remain suspended mid-air.
He said SHO Gulmarg and SOG teams were the first responders to reach the site immediately after the incident.
The DGP said 14 SDRF teams were initially pressed into service, while an additional team was later deployed, taking the total number of SDRF teams involved in the operation to 15.
Prabhat further said that eight mountain rescue teams and nine Snow Leopard rescue units also joined the operation to evacuate stranded passengers.
He said Jammu and Kashmir Police personnel, SDRF teams, Indian Army and NDRF jointly conducted the rescue mission despite continuous rain and difficult weather conditions in the hilly area.
Officials said all stranded tourists were evacuated safely, while nearly 45 physically weak and unfit persons were shifted using stretchers during the operation.
The malfunction had disrupted Gondola services between the Base Station and Phase-1 (Kongdori), leaving nearly 300 tourists stranded in cable car cabins amid inclement weather conditions.
Confirming the successful completion of the operation, officials said all stranded tourists were evacuated safely after hours of coordinated rescue efforts.
Earlier, the Army said a distress call was received from the Jammu and Kashmir Police and the Gondola Management Authority regarding the safety of stranded tourists, following which rescue teams were immediately mobilised.
Troops of the Butapathri Battalion deployed three Casualty Assistance Teams (CATs) between the Gondola Base Station and Phase-1, while All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) were also pressed into service to assist evacuation efforts in difficult terrain and adverse weather.
The Army said 65 cable cars were affected by the malfunction.
Rescue teams initially evacuated 17 cable cars from the Phase-1 side, rescuing 94 tourists, while another 15 cable cars from the Base Station side were cleared, leading to the evacuation of 90 more persons.
“In total, 184 stranded tourists have been safely evacuated so far through the coordinated efforts of the Indian Army, SDRF, Jammu and Kashmir Police and other responding agencies,” General Officer Commanding (GOC) 19 Division, Major General Manoj Joshi, had said during the operation.
Officials said technical teams of the Gondola authorities were assessing the exact nature and extent of the malfunction.
Meanwhile, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said he was personally monitoring the situation and had spoken to Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo regarding the rescue operation. He had directed Director General of Police Nalin Prabhat to proceed to Gulmarg and oversee the mission.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also said the government was closely monitoring the situation and assured that trained rescue teams were on the ground to ensure the safety of tourists.
Meanwhile, on the instructions of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary today visited Gulmarg to personally oversee the rescue operations following the temporary stoppage of the Gondola service due to a technical fault.
MLA Gulmarg Pirzada Farooq Ahmed Shah, along with senior administrative and police officers, was also present on the site monitoring the situation closely and coordinating the rescue efforts.
The Jammu and Kashmir Government is closely monitoring the situation at the Gulmarg Gondola after the cable car service was temporarily halted due to a technical issue. Officials informed that all cabins remain intact and trained rescue teams are actively engaged on the ground to safely evacuate the stranded tourists.
The Deputy Chief Minister reviewed the ongoing rescue measures and directed all concerned agencies to ensure swift, coordinated and safe evacuation of the remaining passengers.
Authorities said that the majority of the stranded cabins have already been cleared and every effort is being made to safely evacuate those still awaiting rescue.
The Government has assured that the situation is completely under control and there is no cause for panic.
Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary also visited Gulmarg to assess the rescue operations launched after a technical snag disrupted the functioning of the Gondola service.
Despite difficult terrain and slippery conditions caused by continuous movement along steep slopes, the Deputy Chief Minister personally visited the rescue sites and appreciated the dedication and professionalism displayed by the rescue teams under the challenging circumstances.
During the visit, the Deputy Chief Minister reviewed the on-ground situation and inspected the Gondola base station, cabins and related infrastructure. He directed the concerned authorities to ensure that all necessary safety protocols are strictly adhered to and stressed the need for early restoration of services for the convenience of tourists and locals.
Interacting with the tourists and officials on the spot, the Deputy Chief Minister lauded the coordinated efforts of the Civil Administration, Police, Army, Disaster Response Force (DRF), local guides and other agencies involved in the rescue operation.
“On the directions of the Chief Minister, I personally supervised the ongoing rescue operation and I am happy to say that all the stranded tourists have been rescued safely,” he said.
The Deputy Chief Minister said that the prompt response and close coordination among all agencies ensured the safe evacuation of every passenger. He reiterated that the safety and well-being of tourists remains the government’s top priority. “Tourists are our valued guests and every possible effort was made to ensure their safe rescue. I am thankful that all the passengers are safe and the rescue operation has concluded successfully,” he added.
The Deputy Chief Minister further assured that a detailed report regarding the incident would be submitted to the Chief Minister, following which appropriate measures would be taken to ascertain the cause of the technical snag and prevent recurrence of such incidents in future.
Senior officers from Civil, police and army were also present.
