Cable cars fail with flying colours

Cable cars fail with flying colours

TWO cable cars that were being transported for storage on a cableway under construction in Sentosa yesterday did not make it.

One crashed into a construction site, while the other stayed suspended about 20m high, with one person stuck inside for at least two hours.

No one was injured in the incident that happened at about 4pm. The cable cars, part of the upcoming Intra-Island Cableway on Sentosa, were not in operation.

The cableway, expected to be completed in January, will comprise three stations: Siloso Point Station and Plaza, Imbiah Station and Flower Terrace Station.

A contractor was carrying out installation work when the incident took place, a spokesman for Sentosa Development Corporation said.

"An empty cabin was dislodged, while another cabin was halted with a technical supervisor inside," she said.

When My Paper went to the scene, the cabin was hanging in mid-air near the edge of Siloso Beach. At about 6.50pm, it crept towards Imbiah Station, where the man exited the cabin safely.

The area under the suspended cable car was cordoned off by police. Tourists who wanted to walk on a trail were re-routed to the Imbiah trail nearby.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force was present, but did not have to perform any rescue operation.

A spokesman said that they received a call informing them of the incident at 4.25pm.

For one family, it was an unusual way of ending a family weekend getaway at the Siloso Beach Resort.

Ryan Anan, a project engineer, was to report to work at 8pm, so he and his family had decided to leave at 6pm.

He had parked his car at the carpark outside. However, after waiting for more than an hour and not being able to leave because of the cordon, they went back to the chalet to rest.

Staff from a flying trapeze station nearby said that a child who was waiting her turn said she saw the cable car fall and heard a loud boom.

The Sentosa spokesman said that the incident occurred on the line under construction, unrelated to the existing cableway system from Mount Faber to Sentosa. The Building and Construction Authority is investigating the matter.

jalmsab@sph.com.sg


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