Cableway set to reopen on Wednesday after fire

Depending on the weather, cable cars were due to start operating normally again on Wednesday morning following the fire at the lower cableway station last week, says the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway Company.

“Safety experts have worked over the weekend to investigate the fire that broke out in the parking garage structure of the Lower Station on Thursday. We can confirm that the flames and the heat did not reach the machinery operating the movement of our cable cars, and we can now safely resume operations,” said the company’s managing director, Wahida Parker.

Firefighters extinguished the fire at the cableway station on Tafelberg Road last Thursday afternoon after a bank of lithium batteries caught alight, said City Fire and Rescue Service spokesman Jermaine Carelse.

“Staff remained on site for several hours afterwards to ensure that the batteries did not reignite, and that the area was safe,” he said.

Wilderness Search and Rescue personnel ventured up the Platteklip Gorge hiking trail to help 75 visitors who decided to hike down.

“Numerous rescuers from all of our teams were either involved or on standby, ready to respond to the incident,” said the WSAR spokesman David Nel.

Meanwhile, SANParks said all visitors and staff had been evacuated safely and all hiking trails in Table Mountain National Park remained open.

Table Mountain Aerial Cableway Company said visitors who had bought tickets had a limited time in which to use them or they could request a refund, and anyone who celebrated their birthday during October could redeem their free birthday ticket during November.

“We thank the public for their support and understanding. We again thank the many agencies and partners who helped on Thursday to bring the fire under control and to safely bring all 400 visitors down from the mountain,” Ms Parker said.