Rescue forces worked throughout the night and early morning to rescue the 32 people, including several children, who were stranded in the Puerto Plata cable car due to a breakdown at around 2pm on Sunday, 23 May 2021 that paralyzed the up and down cars in the air.
The breakdown in the system affected both the northbound and southbound cars that were stranded high up. Those on board transmitted their plight to friends and family.
The emergency car lowered the first group of 16 starting at around 7pm. But a second car was at the height of around 350 meters, complicating the rescue operations with the emergency car and causing delays in the rescue. Strong winds in the area delayed the rescue.
The cabins can carry up to 20 passengers. Due to the pandemic, they were traveling with 16 persons.
The rescue became a national priority. Former Puerto Plata senator, Administrative Minister Jose Ignacio Paliza traveled up the Isabel de Torres mountain by road with a group of experts to determine possible solutions to the rescue. He said the life of the persons is guaranteed. The stranded travelers received blankets, water and snacks.
Meanwhile, the difficulties in the rescue of the Puerto Plata skylift coincided with the news that in Italy, 14 persons traveling on a skylift had died when the skylift car crashed to the ground. This is the first time that a major inconvenience such as this had happened affecting the Puerto Plata cable car. The cable car was inaugurated in 1979.
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El Dia
24 May 2021