The last of 174 people stranded in cable cars above a Turkish mountain have been rescued – almost 23 hours after one of the pods hit a pole and burst open, killing one and injuring seven others.
The accident, which sent people plummeting to the ground, happened at around 6pm local time on Friday on the Tunektepe cable car, just outside the popular tourist city of Antalya in the south of the country.
Footage taken in the aftermath of the crash showed the torn open wreckage of the car and tangled debris on the rocky ground as well as medics tending the wounded.
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The injured were airlifted to hospital
It left scores of passengers trapped in 24 cabins suspended high in the air. Interior minister Ali Yerlikaya confirmed the trapped passengers had been rescued on Saturday afternoon.
The major rescue effort involving helicopters and more than 500 emergency workers continued throughout the night.
Earlier, Okay Memis, director of the Turkish search and rescue agency AFAD, said 128 people in 16 cars had been rescued “under difficult conditions”.
He added: “The rescue of 43 others in eight remaining pods is ongoing.”
Mr Memis said rescuers hoped to complete rescue operations before dark.
The governor’s office named Memis Gumus, a Turkish national, as the man who died in the incident.
The injured, including two children, were airlifted to hospital.
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Rescue teams worked through the night to free those trapped. Pic: AP
It initially reported seven people had been injured in the collision, but the number was later revised to 10 by health minister Dr Fahrettin Koca.
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Mr Koca wrote on X: “One person died and 10 people were injured as a result of a cable car cabin falling in Antalya’s Konyaaltı district.
“May God have mercy on our citizen who lost his life in the accident, I wish a speedy recovery to our injured, and I wish a speedy recovery to the rescued and waiting to be rescued victims.”
The crash occurred on the final day of the three-day Eid al Fitr public holiday in Turkey – which marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and sees families flock to coastal resorts.
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The cable car carries tourists from Konyaalti beach to a restaurant and viewing platform at the summit of the 618m (2027ft) Tunektepe peak.
It takes around nine minutes to make the ascent, according to its website.
It is run by Antalya Metropolitan Municipality.
An investigation has been launched by the Antalya prosecutor’s office to determine the cause of the crash.
