Sightseers are stranded in cable cars above zoo

NEW YORK (AP) — Dozens of sightseers were stranded in cable cars over Bronx Zoo animal habitats Wednesday afternoon until the gondola system was repaired more than four hours later.

The system abruptly halted about 5:30 p.m. when one of the cars became misaligned. Firefighters and police used a crane to rescue three people in that car around 8 p.m.

But 34 people were stranded in the other cars until the misaligned gondola was back on track and the Skyfari system was restarted. Those passengers all had left the ride at the regular exits by 10 p.m.

One of the passengers rescued by crane, Olga Perez, said firefighters talked to the stranded passengers and gave them water. She was visiting the zoo with relatives who were stranded in the other cable cars.

Zoo officials and rescuers said they didn't know why a car had become misaligned.