174 people stranded in suspense rescued almost a day later

The last of the 174 people stranded in cable cars high above a mountain in southern Turkey were brought to safety on Saturday, nearly 23 hours after one pod hit a pole and burst open, killing one person and injuring seven when they plummeted to the rocks below.

A total of 607 search-and-rescue personnel and 10 helicopters were involved, including teams from Turkey’s emergency response agency, the coastguard, fire-fighting teams and mountain rescue teams from different parts of Turkey, officials said.

The stranded people had been stuck on the Tunektepe cable car, just outside the Mediterranean city of Antalya, since 5:30 p.m. on Friday, when the accident occurred.

Istanbul resident Hatice Polat and her family were rescued seven hours into the ordeal. Speaking to the Anadolu agency, she said the power went out and the pod flipped four or five times.

“The night was awful, we were very scared. There were children with us, they passed out,” she said. “It was torture being up there for seven hours. It was swaying every second, you’re constantly in fear. It was very traumatic; I don’t know how we’ll get over this trauma.”

State-run Anadolu Agency identified the deceased as a 54-year-old Turkish man.

Those injured included two children and were six Turkish citizens and one Kyrgyz national. They were all rescued by coastguard helicopters soon after the crash and sent for treatment. – Morning Star

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