Tauseef Ahmad
Srinagar, May 25: Around 260 tourists who were stranded mid-air after a technical fault in the Gulmarg cable car ropeway were safely rescued following a massive joint operation by the Army, SDRF, police and other rescue agencies in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday, Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary said.
The incident occurred around 2:30 pm when the Gulmarg Gondola service suddenly developed a technical fault, forcing multiple cable car cabins to halt between stations. Women, children and elderly passengers were among those trapped inside the suspended cabins.
Reports reaching said that all stranded tourists were rescued by joint teams comprising the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Gulmarg Police, Special Operations Group (SOG),Indian Army and personnel of the J&K Armed Police, including 14 Mountain Rescue Teams, while National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS) teams also joined the operation.
In a post on X, Kashmir Zone Police said, “Over 200 stranded tourists have been rescued by elements of SDRF, Gulmarg Police, SOG, Snow Leopards and personnel of J&K Armed Police (including 14 Mountain Rescue Teams). Teams of NDRF and HAWS are also making exemplary contribution to this team effort.”
Authorities said several passengers were evacuated using rope-based rescue techniques after technical teams failed to restore the system immediately. Officials said 63 cabins were affected during the disruption, while the entire Gondola system consists of 108 cable cars, each with a carrying capacity of six passengers.
Officials stated that rescue efforts in Phase-2 of the Gondola route proved particularly difficult because of the high altitude, steep terrain and muddy tracks. Rescue operations continued for several hours as teams worked to evacuate stranded passengers safely.
Following the incident, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah directed Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary to visit Gulmarg and personally monitor the rescue operation.
Speaking to reporters in Baramulla after reviewing the operation, Choudhary said the
rescue mission was “almost complete” and confirmed that all 260 tourists stranded in 63 cabins had been evacuated safely.
“I came here on the instructions of the Chief Minister. There were 260 tourists, 63 cabins, and people were evacuated from all cabins. The Army, SDRF, local people and police played a crucial role in this,” he said.
He added that due to muddy conditions, several tourists were walking downhill after being rescued from higher points of the ropeway route.
“There is no need to panic. Everything is fine. All tourists are safe,” Choudhary said, adding that a detailed report would be submitted to the Chief Minister and the exact cause of the incident would be known after an investigation.
Meanwhile, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said he was personally monitoring the situation and had directed the Director General of Police to proceed to the site.
However, a top police official confirmed to Kashmir Despatch that the operation has been concluded and all Tourists have been safely rescued.
