Davo 1 Posted October 17, 2003 Share Posted October 17, 2003 Did anyone see the news about this accident last night? Very sad and worrying for anyone who rides gondelas on a regular basis. An old couple were killed as they fell to the grond from their godela compartment in some sort of derailment accident. The whole window was bashed out of the compartment-maybe from the force of them being thrown against it as it jerked to a halt. Something I'll have to try and not think about on those long Tsugaike gondala rides. Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted October 17, 2003 Share Posted October 17, 2003 Sad news for the hikers. I have ridin that gondola before. I get scared when the high winds kick up and the bubbles are swinging like crazy. Link to post Share on other sites
mogski 0 Posted October 17, 2003 Share Posted October 17, 2003 As I understood from teh news last night, the compartment swayed into the pylon sutaining and guiding the cable. This damaged the compartment, naturally, and the couple fell from the compartment due to the impact. Not a case of them hitting the window. Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted October 17, 2003 Share Posted October 17, 2003 I saw the story on Yahoo Japan. It sounds like the wire came out of the pulley, one of the cabins was thrown against a support pillar, the window smashed, and the two people inside, an elderly couple, were thrown out. They fell 10 meters or so and died from their injuries. Around 25 people in the other cabins were left suspended for over an hour, but all were eventually rescued. The gondola is fitted with an auto shutdown for when the wind hits 15-18 m/s. Initial weather reports suggest that wind was not a factor. The couple had gone to Ontake on a bus tour from Kyushu organized by a company my wife works for. Link to post Share on other sites
pjem 0 Posted October 17, 2003 Share Posted October 17, 2003 Sad. NAGANO — Two passengers riding in a cable car in Nagano Prefecture, central Japan, died Wednesday after the cable detached from a pulley and they were thrown from the gondola, according to the cable car operator and local authorities. The victims, a man and a woman, were rushed by helicopter to a local hospital but were confirmed dead at 6:05 p.m., hospital officials said. Police believe that the two are a couple from Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture. (Kyodo News) Link to post Share on other sites
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