ALOR STAR: It was an experience to remember for the more than 1,000 people who were stranded on Gunung Machinchang in Langkawi yesterday evening.
Besides facing the cold, the people also had to fight hunger until they were rescued late last night.
One of the victims, Yong Sook Fun, 26, from Kuala Lumpur, said he would not easily forget the experience of being stuck at the first station for eight hours until about 10pm last night.
Yong said he was with 10 friends including a 10-month-old baby when the incident happened.
He said they took the cable car up the hill during the second day of their holiday on the island.
"When it happened after 5pm, we panicked and were very scared. The baby was crying and most of us were tired and hungry," he said when contacted.
Recalling the incident, Yong said he had to wait several hours until the cable car service resumed to get down from the hill.
In view of the incident, Yong urged the cable car management to ensure there was an emergency plan to prevent a recurrence.
He said several tourists from China had expressed their disappointment over the incident especially those who were visiting the island for the first time.
About 1,000 tourists were stranded after the cable car service encountered system failure at 5.48pm yesterday.
It was reported that 88 tourists were stranded in 16 gondolas, some 200 at the first station and another 800 at the top of Gunung Machinchang.
The service resumed at 10.50pm after repair works carried out by Panorama Langkawi Sdn Bhd (Panorama Langkawi) on the faulty system were completed.
Meanwhile, Langkawi Development Authority (Lada) chief executive officer Datuk Azizan Noordin said the incident was due to faulty equipment at the roller to move the cable cars.
He said the company that provided the SkyCab service, Doppelmayr from Austria would come down to have a look at the faulty system soon.
On the same note, Azizan said Panorama Langkawi has refunded the tickets to visitors who were stranded during the incident.
He said Panorama Langkawi also provided assistance to foreign tourists who missed their flights home.
"The incident also did not reduce the number of visitors. After operations resumed this afternoon, more than 3,000 visitors lined up to use the service.