Deoghar ropeway mishap: A look at some cable car accidents in India and abroad

Three tourists were killed and almost 70 others rescued in a 45-hour operation after two cable cars collided mid-air at Trikut Hills in Jharkhand’s Deoghar. Two of the victims fell to their deaths while being pulled up to the helicopters. The massive rescue operation involved two MI-17 helicopters and Garud, IAF, ITBP and NDRF personnel.

MI-17 helicopters carry out rescue operations at the incident site where the ropeway trolley mishap took place, near Trikut, in Deoghar on Monday. (ANI Photo)

Three tourists were killed after two cable cars collided mid-air at Trikut Hills in Jharkhand’s Deoghar. Meanwhile, 70 others rescued in a 45-hour operation. Two of the victims fell to their deaths while being pulled up to the helicopters. The massive rescue operation involved two MI-17 helicopters and Garud, IAF, ITBP and NDRF personnel.

The mishap has once again brought to the fore safety issues regarding ropeways and other amusement facilities. India, or the world, is no stranger to such freak accidents, and several have been reported over the last few years.

Cable car accidents in India

Chhattisgarh, 2021: A labourer died after a ropeway trolley he was travelling in crashed into a tower in Dongargarh area of Rajnandgaon district in February 2021. The accident took place a year after the 1,300-metre ropeway was inaugurated for ferrying devotees to the Bamleshwari Devi temple.

Jammu, 2019: Two workers died and four others were injured on January 20, 2019, after a cable car of the under-construction Jammu ropeway project crashed during a mock rescue drill.

Gulmarg, 2017: In June 2017, a cable car in Kashmir’s Gulmarg was hit by a falling tree, which shattered the glass and threw out the occupants, who plunged 30 feet to their deaths. The tree was uprooted due to strong winds. The mishap, said to be the biggest ropeway accident in India, killed seven people, including a family of four from Delhi.

Andhra Pradesh, 2016: Seven tourists were injured Kailasagiri Hill Park in Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam after a hook of a cable car detached and it fell to the ground. That the cable car was not very high from the ground avoided fatalities. The incident took place in February 2016.

Uttarakhand, 2014-16: In July 2016, a 26-year-old youth fell from a cable car into the Mandakini river in Uttarakhand and lost his life. In September the same year, a three-year-old girl also drowned after falling from a cable car.

In 2014, a boy from Nepal lost his arm after it was crushed by a malfunctioning door. In April and September 2013, two cable cars carrying 22 guests in Nainital experienced technical snags.

West Bengal, 2003: Four tourists lost their lives after two cable cars fell from the ropeway into a ravine in West Bengal’s Darjeeling. The incident took place in October 2019.

Gujarat, 2003: The first major ropeway accident took place in January 2003 in Gujarat where seven people lost their lives and 20 others were injured after three cable cars crashed.

Ropeway mishaps across the world

Italy, 1976: The deadliest cable car disaster in history that claimed the lives of 43 people took place on March 9, 1976, at the Cavalese ski resort in Italy. The incident took place when a cable car was descending Mt. Cermis, and the steel cable supporting the car snapped, dropping it 660 feet down the mountainside.

Singapore, 1983: Two cable cars plunged 55 metres into the sea on January 29, 1983, killing seven people. The accident took place when a derrick of an oil rig got entangled in the cable, snapping it.

Georgia, 1990: An aerial tramway accident on June 1, 1990, in Soviet Georgia’s capital of Tbilisi claimed 20 lives and injured 15. The accident involved two gondolas moving on the ropeway route between Mt. Mtatsminda and Rustaveli Avenue when the hauling rope snapped and sent both cars rolling down the slopes.

Italy, 1998: Two decades after the 1976 incident, the Cavalese ski resort in Italy was witness to yet another terrifying cable car disaster on February 3, 1998, which killed 20 people. The mishap took place when a US Marine Corps aircraft that was flying lower against regulations cut a cable that was supporting the car. The gondola dropped 260 feet to the ground.

France, 1999: The Saint-Étienne-en-Dévoluy commune in France was witness to a deadly cable car accident on July 1, 1999, when a gondola snapped from its cable and fell 80 metres on the valley’s rocky slopes, killing all 20 people on board.