Numerous passengers who were stuck at a very high altitude on Quito’s (Ecuador) well-known tourist cable car found themselves in a terrifying scenario.
But in the early hours of Friday, a successful rescue effort took them back to safety, putting an end to their misery.
All 75 passengers were brought down from the cable car safely thanks to a massive rescue effort by the police and firefighters.
An electrical problem that shut down the cable car system led to the incident. The issue wasn’t fixed for about ten hours, which was necessary for the rescue effort to start and provide desperately needed respite for those who were stranded.
Reports state that 48 people were stranded at the cable car’s highest point, which is astonishingly located at a height of about 4,000 metres (13,120 feet) above sea level.
Then, 17 additional people who were stuck along the cable line were successfully rescued. Ten more people were able to safely make it to the ground after the system was restored to service.
The cable car travels 2.5 kilometres (1.5 miles) between two terminals, with the lower station situated at a height of 3,100 metres above sea level.
The rescue effort was seen in videos posted on the Quito municipality’s Twitter account.
Ropes were used to carefully lower some people to the ground while allowing others to retreat to safety within their cottages. The pictures perfectly depicted how the rescue squad worked together and with professionalism during the operation.
