It was an act of God, says firm operating Gulmarg cable car

7 people, including 4 members of a Delhi family, were killed when a pine tree fell on the cable, derailing the cars

management of the company that operates the gondola cable car service in Gulmarg in J&K on Monday blamed “an act of God” for the Sunday tragedy that killed seven people, even as the services have been suspended for at least 10 days.

Riyaz Ahmad, general manager of the project, said there was no violation of the standard operating procedure (SOP) as alleged by some.

“We don’t operate the gondola during high-velocity winds and there is an inbuilt safety mechanism in the system that automatically stops the operation whenever there are gusty winds,” said Ahmad. “What happened yesterday (Sunday) was a great misfortune because of an act of God.”

Ahmad said there was bright sunshine when the cable cars were in motion. But, he said, “suddenly a gush of strong wind uprooted a pine tree that hit another large pine tree, whose branch fell on the cable, derailing it from the pulley. The system stopped operation and we found out that the cable had been derailed between the fifth and sixth towers”.

The cable car service would remain suspended for at least 10 days. Experts from the French company Pomagalski, which set up the popular gondola lift, would be called in for checks and maintenance work, Mahmood Ahmad Shah, director of the state tourism department, told HT.

Some pine trees that dot the picturesque hills, which get a thick snow cover in the winters, might have to be cut. “For cutting down trees, we will need appropriate clearances,” he said.

Among the dead were Jayant Andraskar, his wife Manisha and their daughters Anagha and Janhvi — residents of Delhi’s Shalimar Bagh. The other three victims, including a travel guide, were identified as Mukhtar Ahmed Ganie, Javed Ahmed Khandey and Farooq Ahmed. Another 150 people who were in other cable cars were saved. The tragedy struck when a tree uprooted by a storm fell on the ropeway. At least two cars were knocked against the hill side and recoiled violently, killing seven on the spot and injuring four.

The system was up two hours after the crash and by 6pm, all 150 stranded passengers were brought back to the base station.

Shah said the cable cars would run only after a thorough check by the French experts. The service is among the key tourist attractions in a region counted among Asia’s best ski resorts. It is one of the highest and longest cable-based lift services in the continent, ferrying passengers to and from the Gulmarg to the Kongdori station roughly 4,000 feet above.

Former CM Omar Abdullah expressed grief over the accident. “Heart-breaking images coming out of #Gulmarg. What a tragic way for a family holiday to end. Can’t sympathise enough with the families,” he tweeted.