Haifa cable car halts with passengers aboard, two days after maintenance

Passengers were left suspended in cabins above Haifa after the city's cable car stopped because of a fault, the Israeli news site Ynet reported. The stoppage came only two days after the line had returned to service following a period of maintenance work, according to Ynet.

The line restarted in stages. Ynet reported that the lower section began running again after an hour and a half, and that the upper section followed roughly half an hour after that. News.co.il reported on its Telegram channel that the cabins started moving once crews had dealt with an electrical fault, and that the incident was over.

What passengers described

One of the people on board recorded video while waiting for the cabins to move, Ynet reported. In that footage the passenger says the group was stuck, that the air inside was not good and that the situation was frightening. The passenger also says they phoned for assistance and that the call was cut off on them. Ynet carried these remarks as the account of a single rider; the reports do not include a response from the operator or from emergency services to that complaint.

How long the stoppage lasted

The two outlets give slightly different durations. Ynet's account puts the time in the air at more than two hours. News.co.il describes the wait as lasting almost two hours. Ynet's own breakdown, with the lower section moving after an hour and a half and the upper section about half an hour later, suggests that passengers in different parts of the line waited for different lengths of time. Neither report states exactly how many people were aboard or how long any individual cabin was stationary.

The cause

Ynet refers only to a fault, without specifying its nature. News.co.il identifies it as an electrical fault and says crews overcame it before the cabins resumed movement. Neither outlet attributes the explanation to a named official or to the operating company, and neither says whether the fault was linked to the maintenance work that had just been completed.

The Haifa cable car

Haifa is a port city in northern Israel built on the slopes of Mount Carmel, with neighbourhoods spread between the waterfront and the ridge above. The cable car referred to in the Hebrew reports as the rakbalit is a public transport line that carries riders up and down that slope in suspended cabins. As both reports make clear, it is divided into more than one section: Ynet distinguishes between a lower segment and an upper one, which is why service could return on one part of the route before the other.

Because the cabins hang above the ground between stations, a stoppage on a line of this kind leaves riders unable to leave until the system restarts or a rescue is carried out. In this case both reports indicate that the passengers were freed when the cabins began moving again, rather than through an evacuation from the air.

Timing after maintenance

The detail that stands out in Ynet's report is the timing. The line had been out of service for maintenance and had been running again for only two days when it stopped. Ynet does not say what the maintenance involved, how long the line had been closed for it, or whether any further closure is planned as a result of this incident.

What the reports do not say

• Neither report includes a statement from the cable car's operator or from the Haifa municipality explaining the fault or responding to passengers.
• The number of passengers on board, and whether any needed medical attention, is not given.
• No account explains why a passenger's call for help was reportedly cut off.
• It is not reported whether the line will remain in service or close again for checks.