LANGKAWI: More than 1,126 passengers and staff of Langkawi SkyCab were stranded for about 5 hours after the cable car system broke down on Sunday evening.
The operator of the SkyCab service said in a statement, “It took five hours to complete repair works on the 2.2km cable car with a peak located 708m above sea level.”
The SkyCab operation broke down following a fault in the system which occurred at 5.48pm, the statement said.
Some 300 passengers of the Langkawi SkyCab were trapped in 50 gondola lifts, and 700 others stranded at the peak of Gunung Machinchang station and its midway station, following a technical glitch, according to a report by New Straits Times yesterday.
Kedah Fire and Rescue Department spokesman Mohamad Mustakim Mukhtar said that the some 800 were stuck at two stations on Mount Machinchang, which is 713m high.
According to the SkyCab company statement, 88 passengers were stranded in 16 gondola lifts and were rescued with the help of the Fire and Rescue Department about 9.50pm.
“All the stranded passengers and staff were safely transported down beginning 11 pm.
“Other than passengers trapped in the gondola lifts, another 210 and 36 passengers and staff were stranded at the middle station while another 750 passengers and 42 staff were stranded at the highest station,” said the statement.
Langkawi SkyCab services will only resume its operation at noon Monday to allow for maintenance works, the operator company said.
