India, May 26 -- The Gulmarg Gondola service in Jammu and Kashmir will remain suspended for two consecutive days after more than 300 passengers were left stranded midair on Monday following a major technical malfunction.

A massive seven-hour rescue operation was carried out under challenging weather conditions to safely evacuate all stranded tourists.

The incident occurred after a critical gearbox failure abruptly halted Asia's highest ropeway, leaving 65 cabins suspended between the base station and Phase 1, with some dangling nearly 500 feet above the ground, Hindustan Times reported.

Although a spare gearbox was available, officials said replacing it would take at least a day, forcing authorities to launch a vertical rescue operatio...