KUALA LUMPUR, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) — More than 80 people were trapped inside the cable cars while hundreds more stranded for hours due to a breakdown at Malaysia's northern resort island of Langkawi late Sunday, local media reported.

It took the operator about five hours to rectify the malfunction to begin bringing down a total of 960 tourists and 78 staff to the base station before midnight, reported state news agency Bernama.

Local fire and rescue department said in an earlier statement that personnel were dispatched after being alerted in the evening on the breakdown of the 2.2-km cable car line with a peak station located 708 meters above sea level.