Members of the fire service rescue people from cable car gondolas, in Cologne, Germany. Photo/AP
Members of the fire service rescue people from cable car gondolas, in Cologne, Germany. Photo/AP
A young boy was among those winched to safety after as many as 100 people were trapped inside cable cars dangling over Cologne.
Public transport authorities for the city say 32 of of the cars were operating on the line, which runs over the Rhine, when the mishap occurred, accordingto Daily Mail.
Dramatic images show the trapped people, one with a baby in his arms, to reach the safety of fire engine ladders.
When the one car collided with the pillar, the others were brought to a stop, leaving passengers waiting helplessly above the city's streets.
Thomas Miebach, managing director of the Cologne cableway company, is baffled how the cable car bumped into the pillar, particularly as there was no strong breeze.
In Cologne, gondolas have been hovering over the Rhine for 60 years.
The cable car has always been a popular means of transport in the city for locals, connecting the zoo to the Rheinpark on the opposite side of the river.
However, the cableway, which opened in 1957 to the opening of the Bundesgartenschau, is regarded as a tourist attraction.
