In a tragic accident, a Delhi family of four and three tourist guides died as the cable car they were in crashed. The cable car fell due to a ropeway snapping midair at the ski resort of Gulmarg.
The Jammu and Kashmir government has ordered a high level inquiry into the case.
A police officer reported that the strong winds knocked a tree on the lines carrying the cable car, snapping it and dropping the cable car to the ground.
The police also informed they successfully rescued 150 people who were stranded in other cable cars after the first one fell in North Kashmir’s Baramulla district.
The family that died in the accident belonged to Shalimar Bagh in Delhi.
The deceased have been identified as Jayant Andraskar along with his wife Manisha Andraskar with their two minor daughters, Anagha and Janhvi.
The three guides who died were identified as Jahangir Ahmad, Farooq Ahmad Chopan, and Mukhtar Ahmad.
Two other guides Ajaz Ahmad and Tariq Ahmad were injured and rushed to a hospital for treatment.
Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti of Jammu and Kashmir expressed her deepest condolences to the victim’s families and ordered a high level inquiry.
An official spokesperson reported that the Chief Minister declared an ex gratia to the next of kin of the deceased of Rs. 5 lakh.
The general manager of the Jammu and Kashmir State Cable Car Corporation which runs Gulmarg Gondola, Riyaz Ahmad said, “We resumed the rope way for the rescue of the stranded people.”
The former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah raised concerns and questioned why the cable care service was not shut off as a precautionary method till the strong winds in the area slow down.
