The Antalya Republic Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has initiated an investigation following the accident at the Tünektepe Cable Car Facility in Sarısu, which led to the arrest of 5 suspects, including Kepez Municipality Mayor Mesut Kocagöz. According to the referral letter to the court, it was stated that a panel of experts conducted an examination and inspection at the scene while rescue operations were ongoing. The preliminary report by the panel of experts indicated that the accident occurred as a result of the weight loading on pillar number 5 of the cable car due to the entrapment of the traction/carrier ropes into the carrier pulley, causing the pillar to break at the connection point due to deformation in the bolts.
The document highlighted that the suspects indicated during their statements that the cable car needed to undergo a maintenance period of approximately 3 months due to annual heavy maintenance requirements, but this was delayed in 2024 due to local elections and holidays. It was also mentioned that despite the proposal to change the carrier pulleys, this replacement was canceled or postponed due to negligence, leading to the lack of adequate and necessary maintenance, resulting in the accident as described above. Moreover, it was noted that on the day of the accident, two separate reports were made to the cable car operations center via internal line stating that sparks were seen at pillar number 5, which is consistent with the findings on the cause of the incident.
The further investigation revealed that although a total of 156 parts were recommended to be changed, only 19 parts were actually replaced. The cable car facility in question is owned by ANET AŞ, a subsidiary of Antalya Metropolitan Municipality, and maintenance and technical services are outsourced to Mega Tower AŞ. The document mentioned that the maintenance company was negligent in advising ANET about the replacement of the pulleys that caused the accident during the heavy maintenance period. It was also stated that despite the proposal to change 156 parts due to local elections and holidays, only 19 parts were replaced, indicating negligence on the part of ANET. Mesut Kocagöz, who was the Chairman of ANET AŞ and resigned on November 28, 2023, was one of the suspects in the case.
The tragic accident on April 12 at the cable car facility, which experienced high traffic during the Ramadan holiday, resulted in the death of lawyer Memiş Gümüş, who fell from a shattered cabin. Additionally, several individuals were injured in the incident. Due to the system failure, 174 people in 24 cabins were left hanging in the air for approximately 22.5 hours before being rescued. Following the accident, 14 suspects were detained, and 5, including Mesut Kocagöz, were arrested. The investigation shed light on past negligence and deficiencies in maintenance that contributed to the occurrence of the accident.
