A major tourist tragedy was averted at Maharashtra’s celebrated Toranmal hill station near the village of Mangala when a tourist was left hanging hundreds of feet above a 3,500-foot-deep gorge when a newly launched zip line system had a sudden technical snag and the tourist was suspended in mid-air. The dramatic incident triggered panic among the tourists and local residents who could hardly believe how the person remained suspended over the valley for a tense time.
In a rush, zip line workers went into action and launched an all-out rescue operation that used emergency safety equipment and appropriate maneuvers to reach the stranded person. The tourist was recovered in time and safely returned to the platform when a tense rescue operation began and never sustained any injuries. The quick response and good sense of mind of the operators saved the life of the tourist from disaster. The technical failure is now being investigated and safety regulations for adventure sports in the area will be discussed locally; local authorities will be interviewed.
In Dandeli, growing safety concerns for safety in another similar situation have been raised after a similar accident at Toranmal. This horrific incident at Toranmal follows a more recent, severe zipline accident that has raised serious concerns regarding adventure tourism safety regulations. In another incident in Vijayapura, a tourist from Vijayapura, Kuber Surpur, suffered severe, life-altering injuries after falling nearly 40 feet to the ground when a safety lock broke at the end of the zipline. The horrific incident occurred at a resort in Dandeli when a safety lock failed and broke down during the ride. A chilling video of the accident shows the victim plummeting heavily to the ground, and panic erupted among the people gathered on the platform.
Kuber Surpur was transported to Dandeli Government Hospital after the fall and then sent to advanced medical facilities for treatment in Vijayapura and later Miraj. The victim’s grieving family has strongly claimed gross negligence on the part of the resort management, asserting that the harness gave way early in the experience because of the poor safety gear and faulty locking mechanisms. These back-to-back incidents have cast a dark shadow over the adventure tourism industry, and the tourists now want more government oversight, regular safety checks, and certification for all commercial ropeway and zip line attractions across hill stations and resorts nationwide.
