SRP cable car conks out; 32 rescued

CEBU, Philippines - At least 32 riders of the cable car installed at the Kasadya sa South Road Properties (SRP) were rescued by fire volunteers Sunday night after the engine conked out.

James Bungcasan of the Cebu City Fire Volunteers (CCFV) told The FREEMAN that he was at the area when the cable car stopped moving and people riding on it started screaming.

He immediately reported the incident to the special rescue unit of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP).

Bungcasan said the people were rescued after 20 to 25 minutes at past 11 p.m. that night.

“Loaded ang cable car, daghang mga tawo naay mga bata ug tiguwang.  Nag-panic ug naghinilakay na ang mga tawo,” Bungcasan said.

SRP Management Office head Roberto “Bu” Vasquez, however clarified to The FREEMAN that it was not the engine which had defect but rather the power line of  Visayan Electric Company (Veco) according to report of his personnel who checked the power line connection.

“Nihunong ang ride (cable car) tungod kay ang power line sa Veco nag-brown out dili kay daot ang cable,” Vasquez said.

Immediately after the engine stopped, Vasquez said the riders were rescued with the help of a Manlift truck from the Department of Public Services (DPS) on stand-by at the Sugbo Building in SRP.

“Wala ma-reconnect balik ang power line so dayon gipakanaog ang mga nisakay sa cable car nga dunay mga bata,” Vasquez said.

Following the incident, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama has directed the Office of the Building Official (OBO) to re-inspect all rides especially the said cable car.

“Nimandu gyod si Mayor nga i-check para di na mausab and to make sure all the rides are safe to the public,” Vasquez said.

The FREEMAN tried to get the side of Raquel Arce, the City’s Market Enforcement Division head and one of the in-charge of the “Kasadya sa SRP” but repeated calls and text messages to her cellular phone went unanswered.

Vasquez said the operator of the cable car needs to secure clearance from OBO to continue operation.

Also, Vasquez said next year all the rides will have separate power lines to avoid such incident. (FREEMAN)