A gondola on the cable car which runs over the Rhine river became jammed at around midday on Sunday in beautiful weather. The fire service then had to engage in a spectacular rescue of people stuck in gondolas suspended above the river.
“We still have no idea how it could have happened,” said a spokesperson for the Cologne Transport Company.
Due to the fact that several of the gondolas were left hanging over the river, many guests had to be abseiled down from a significant height onto a rescue vessel.
Other people were rescued via extendable ladders stretched out from fire trucks at the river bank.
One man had to be treated at the scene after he suffered from blood circulation problems. Nobody was injured during the emergency, according to Cologne authorities.
A team of specialists worked through the night into Monday to dismantle the jammed gondola. But on Monday the cable car remained closed as investigators began to look for the cause of the accident.
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