Over 300 tourists stranded in Gulmarg high-altitude ropeways rescued

SDRF personnel carry out a rescue operation on the Gulmarg Gondola after cable car service was stopped due to a technical fault in Gulmarg on May 25, 2026. | Photo credit: Special arrangement

More than 300 tourists aboard the suspended cabins of Asia’s highest cable car (13,054 ft. to 13,780 ft.) were rescued after a dramatic effort within hours in north Kashmir’s Gulmarg hill station.

Rescue operations were launched on Monday (May 25, 2026) afternoon after the cable car suffered a technical snag and left 65 cabins dangling. The stranded tourists panicked as the weather worsened and strong winds and rain lashed Gulmarg.

The rescue operation lasted over six hours and ensured the safety of all tourists, officials said. Technical teams were assessing the nature and extent of the malfunction, they added. The cabins are suspended on high-tensile ropes that move smoothly.

Around 320 stranded tourists were rescued during the operation. “The incident occurred at around 1:20 pm when a technical glitch caused several gondola cabins carrying tourists to remain suspended in the air. Fourteen SDRF teams were initially deployed on duty while another team was later deployed, taking the total number of SDRF teams involved in the operation to 15,” Director General of Police Nalin Prabhat said.

The personnel were transferred to the cable car after a technical fault caused a sudden interruption of services between the base station and Phase 1, an army spokesman said. “Following a distress call received from the J&K Police and the Gondola Management Authority regarding the safety and evacuation of stranded tourists, the Indian Army swung into action and mobilized rescue teams towards the affected area,” the army said.

The Army fielded an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) to facilitate evacuation efforts “in challenging terrain and adverse weather conditions.” Additional ATVs were coordinated through the Gulmarg ATV Association to augment the evacuation effort.

Top police officials have also reached the spot to supervise the rescue operations, officials said. J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has deputed Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary to Gulmarg “to personally supervise the rescue operations after the gondola stopped temporarily due to a technical fault”, an official spokesperson said.

“All cabins remain intact and trained rescue teams are actively engaged on the ground to safely evacuate stranded tourists. The government has assured that the situation is fully under control and there is no cause for panic,” the spokeswoman said.

J&K Governor Manoj Sinha was monitoring the situation, a Lok Bhavan spokesperson said. “I am monitoring the rescue operation for the tourists who were stuck in the cable car cabins after a technical fault in Gulmarg. I have directed the Director General of Police (DGP) to proceed to the spot,” Mr. Sinha said.

Mr Abdullah said the incident would be thoroughly investigated and an investigation into the technical fault would be carried out. “Responsibility for any outages will be determined and appropriate action will be taken,” he said.

“Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary said that a detailed report regarding the incident would be submitted to the Chief Minister after which appropriate action would be taken to ascertain the cause of the technical snag to prevent recurrence of such incidents in future. Mr. Choudhary directed the authorities concerned to ensure that all necessary safety protocols are strictly followed and local tourists will have to ensure timely restoration.”

“The tourists are our valued guests and all possible efforts have been made to ensure their safe rescue. I am thankful that all the passengers are safe and the rescue operation has ended successfully,” said the Deputy CM.

Said to be the tallest and longest cable car project in Asia, the cable car is a major attraction for tourists visiting Kashmir. Around 4,000 people ride the cable car every day. The experience is divided into two phases: Gulmarg-Kongdoori and Kongdoori-Afarwat. Gondolas glide through the lush pine-covered forest to the vast rolling grassy meadows of Khilanmarg.

Gulmarg cable car will remain closed on May 26 and 27 for maintenance. Tickets issued for May 25, 26 and 27 will be fully refunded.

Published – 25 May 2026 22:28 IST