Technical failure at Kazakh ski resort left travellers stranded in ski lifts

A technical failure at the Shymbulak mountain resort in Kazkahstan has caused a cable car line to come to a halt while dozens of tourists were travelling on it.

Local authorities had to carry out evacuation efforts for twenty people that were inside the cabins at the moment of the disturbance, Caliber.Az reports citing Kazakh media.

Around another 100 people were travelling at the Talgar Pass at the moment of the disruption, which is located the upper station of the gondola road of the Shymbulak ski resort.

Some skiers were brought down using mountaineering equipment, while the majority were transported via vehicles and the “Combi-1” cable car.

According to the Kazakh Ministry of Emergency Situations, rescue efforts were carried out by their specialists together with resort staff. It further confirmed that no one was injured.

The disruption occurred at 12:26 local time (11:26 Baku time) with staff immediately embarking on repair works. According to the resort, attempts to repair the mechanism continued until 13:50 yet unsuccessfully, which is when the decision was made to evacuate the travellers.

At the time of the report, work to restore the cable car line was ongoing.

By Nazrin Sadigova