Baramulla, May 25: The General Officer Commanding (GoC) of the 19 Infantry Division Major General Manoj Joshi on Monday said that the rescue operation at Gulmarg Gondola will likely to continue till midnight.
He however said the situation was “totally under control” as more rescue teams were arriving to speed up the operation.
“All the stranded passengers would be evacuated by midnight,” he added
A massive rescue operation is underway at the Gulmarg Gondola as a major technical snag stranded dozens of cable cars mid-air.
In wake of this around 300 tourists were stranded out of which over 90 were rescued by the rescue operation teams.
GOC 19 infantry division said the operation was expected to continue till midnight amid inclement weather conditions.
“The Army received information about the malfunction of Gondola around 12:45pm to 1pm after the gondola’s gearbox developed a fault, causing nearly 65 cable cars operating between the base station and Phase-I to come to a halt,” GOC 19 Infantry Division, Major General Manoj Joshi, said.
He said the situation triggered a large-scale rescue effort after scores of tourists and other passengers were left stranded in suspended cable cars.
“A request was received from the Cable Car Corporation and the District Administration Baramulla for rescue of people stranded in the cable cars,” he said.
Major General Joshi said that by 6 pm, joint rescue teams had managed to evacuate passengers from around 29 to 30 cable cars, while nearly 10 cabins were found empty.
He said around 25 cable cars were still awaiting rescue.
“The rescue operation is going on amid the inclement weather. We have rains and hailstorms in between,” he added.
He said the teams from the Army, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Police, District Administration, Cable Car Corporation and other agencies are jointly coordinating the operation on the ground,” he said.
“We are looking at another four to six hours to complete the rescue operation. Additional lighting arrangements were being made to facilitate rescue work during the night,” he added.
Major General Joshi said authorities were continuously communicating with stranded passengers through megaphones to prevent panic and reassure them that all occupants would be safely evacuated.
“There was some panic initially, but it was managed through regular communication,” he said.
He added that temporary relief and assistance centres were established for rescued passengers, where refreshments including tea were being provided before they were guided back towards Gulmarg.
