Around 300 tourists stranded as Gulmarg cable car stops mid-air after technical issue

Nearly 300 tourists were stranded mid-air on Monday after the Gulmarg Gondola cable car system in Jammu and Kashmir developed a technical fault and came to an abrupt halt, prompting a large-scale rescue operation involving the army, police and civil administration.

Officials said the gondola service, a major tourist attraction in Gulmarg, stopped functioning suddenly due to a technical issue, leaving passengers stuck inside multiple suspended cabins and triggering panic among visitors.

Rescue operations were immediately launched with personnel from the Indian Army’s 9 Raj Rif, Jammu and Kashmir Police and local administration reaching the site to begin evacuation efforts. Senior officials, including the Sub-Divisional Magistrate and Tehsildar of Tangmarg, also arrived to oversee the operation.

Eyewitnesses reported panic among tourists, including women and children, as the cable cars remained suspended mid-air. Videos from the site showed stranded passengers inside cabins while rescue teams coordinated evacuation procedures on the ground.

Authorities said the situation was brought under control during the operation, adding that technical experts were deployed to identify the fault and restore the gondola service at the earliest while evacuation efforts continued.