Srinagar, May 27 -- Rescued after a gruelling seven-hour ordeal in treacherous weather conditions, the stranded tourists on Monday recalled the fear, uncertainty and relief of being brought to safety by the rescuers.

Soon after Gandola developed a snag, a massive rescue operation was launched involving teams from the cable car project, the army, police, SDRF, CRPF, and NDRF. Officials said a total of 65 cable cars were stuck at various points, with 55 of them carrying tourists.

For many tourists, what began as a holiday adventure quickly turned into a nightmare.

"We had come here for enjoyment and initially thought the services would be restored soon," said Disha, a tourist from Gujarat. "The weather was bad, and we feared something ad...