An embarrassed Taipei mayor Hau Long-pin has apologised for yet another malfunction of the new cable car system on the outskirts of Taipei.
The latest incident came just two days after Hong Kong pop starAndy Lau came to the city to promote the new facility at the invitation of the city government.
'The Taipei city government is sorry about such an accident, which has resulted in tourists being stranded in the cable cars for two hours. This is something we must improve,' Mr Hau said.
The city government-operated Maokong cable car system, known as the Taipei Gondola, links the Taipei Zoo and the Maokong Tea Farm on the eastern outskirts of the city. It came to an abrupt standstill yesterday, leaving 323 passengers in 57 cars hanging some 300 metres above the ground for two hours.
Angry passengers complained about the unbearable heat inside the gondolas, which have no air conditioning, as temperatures in Taipei rose to a record 38.6 degrees Celsius.
It was merely the latest in a series of malfunctions since the new system opened just last month.
Mr Hau said seven officials, including the deputy secretary-general of the city government and secretary-general of the transport bureau, were reprimanded for failing to react swiftly enough to the case.