A tripod style tower collapsed on a Turkish gondola lift yesterday evening, leading to a delicate overnight rescue operation. The scenic lift was fully loaded with approximately 180 passengers, eight of whom fell to the ground when their cabin was hit by the falling tower around 6:00 pm. A 54 year old Turkish man was killed and seven others were injured. Helicopters and hundreds of first responders worked all night to evacuate remaining stranded passengers. The Antalya municipality which owns the lift said it may take 24 hours for the last riders to be rescued from the steep, rocky lift line.
Opened in 2017, the Tünektepe Teleferik carries up to 1,200 riders per hour on 1,967 vertical foot scenic ride. The detachable gondola was likely built by STM, a Turkish manufacturer using Carvatech cabins. The lift’s 36 cabins travel at 5 meters per second to reach a mountaintop restaurant.
Update 4/13: Nearly 24 hours after the incident, the line was cleared of all passengers. Turkey’s Minister of Justice said 17 people were injured, some a result of the evacuation rather than the initial crash. Preliminary indications are the “incident occurred due to the insufficiency/corrosion of fasteners at the connection points of the cable car’s poles and damaged pulley systems on the poles.” The operator of the cable car apparently did not have an adequate evacuation/emergency action plan in place. A criminal investigation has been opened and a detention order issued for 13 employees.
Lift Blog 
Updated 8:11 AM MDT, April 13, 2024
ISTANBUL (AP) — The last of 174 people stranded in cable cars high above a mountain in southern Turkey were brought to safety Saturday, nearly 23 hours after one pod hit a pole and burst open, killing one person and injuring seven when they plummeted to the rocks below.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced the successful completion of the rescue operation on X Saturday afternoon.
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Associated Press (AP) says the gondola hit a tower and burst open, which is crap. A support tower fell down and hit the gondola. Big difference. I don’t see the mainstream Press fixing their error any time soon.
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The inaccuracy of the media reporting is stunning. The reports didn’t make sense. No, they won’t correct it. Think about that when you read media reports on other topics on which you don’t have direct knowledge.
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Update: Nearly 24 hours after the incident, the line was cleared of all passengers. Turkey’s Minister of Justice said 17 people were injured, some a result of the evacuation rather than the initial crash. Preliminary indications are the “incident occurred due to the insufficiency/corrosion of fasteners at the connection points of the cable car’s poles and damaged pulley systems on the poles.” The operator of the cable car apparently did not have an adequate evacuation/emergency action plan in place. A criminal investigation has been opened and a detention order issued for 13 employees.
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To all of you who work as mechanics and maintenance personnel on ski lifts and tramways around the world. As we mourn the crime that was committed in Turkey, please hold your head up with pride for the over design and engineering and excellent building and on going maintenance that keeps ropeways safe as transportation options around the world. Seven years after build and this one collapses. Clearly an exception to the rule. Those us who work in the ski industry in a non lift capacity role send our thoughts and prayers, not only those directly affected by this tragedy in Turkey, but to you too, our heroes on a daily basis for doing your jobs at a professional skill level that just isn’t recognized widely enough. Thank you to all of you. We love you..
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Some images of the tower in question
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I spent some years living there and there was a very popular word that was used there that is very fitting for a lot of what you see. Turknology. It lags a fair bit from modern technology and a lot of things there just don’t feel very safe.
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