Two of six children stranded in a cable car above a deep valley in Pakistan have now been rescued, officials confirmed.
Six children and their teacher have been trapped since early Tuesday morning, forcing military helicopters to be used in the rescue attempt.
Two of the schoolchildren have since been rescued, Deputy Commissioner Jawad Hussain confirmed after television footage showed a rescuer being suspended from a helicopter and lowered to the cable car.
The horrific incident happened earlier this morning as the children were taking the cable car to school. The cable car collapsed dramatically midway in a remote, mountainous part of northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province at an altitude of 1,200 feet.
“The evening is approaching. Tell us why the helicopters are going back?’ Gul Faraz, one of the adults stuck in the cable car, told AFP by phone.
“For God’s sake help us,” he previously told local media.
Several military helicopters were flying reconnaissance sorties and one plane was lowered on a harness to deliver food, water and medicine, local government official Tanveer Ur Rehman told AFP.
An army soldier jumps out of a helicopter during a rescue mission to rescue students stuck in the cable car
Several military helicopters were flying reconnaissance sorties and one plane was lowered on a harness to deliver food, water and medicine, local government official Tanveer Ur Rehman told AFP
After the incident, Acting Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar issued an order to inspect all cable cars in mountainous areas and immediately close those that are not “safety compliant”.
The cable car appeared to tip on its side after the vehicle’s cable snapped
The gondola broke down around 7:00 a.m. local time and residents used loudspeakers at the mosque to alert neighborhood officials across the Allai Valley.
“This is a delicate operation that requires the utmost accuracy. “The helicopter cannot approach the chairlift because its downwash (air pressure) could cause the only chain supporting it to break,” he said.
Anxious crowds were gathering on either side of the gorge, which is several hours from any major city.
“Every time the helicopter brought the rescuer closer to the chairlift, the wind from the helicopter would shake the chairlift and throw it off balance, causing the children to scream in fear,” Ghulamullah, chairman of the Allai Valley area, told Geo News.
The gondola broke down around 7:00 a.m. local time and residents used loudspeakers at the mosque to alert neighborhood officials across the Allai Valley.
Principal Ali Asghar Khan told AFP by phone that the children were teenagers and students at his Battangi Pashto state high school.
“The school is in a mountainous area and there are no safe crossings, so it’s common to use the chairlift,” Khan said.
“Parents are gathered at the chairlift location. What can they do? They are waiting for rescue workers to get their children out. We are all concerned.’
Abid Ur Rehman, a teacher at another school in the area, said around 500 people gathered to watch the rescue mission.
“Parents and women are crying for the safety of their children,” he told AFP.
Syed Hammad Haider, a senior Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province official, said the nacelle hung 1,200 feet above the ground
Cableways carrying passengers and sometimes cars are common in the northern areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province and Gilgit-Baltistan and are vital for connecting villages and towns in areas where roads cannot be built.
Syed Hammad Haider, a senior Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province official, said the nacelle hung 1,200 feet above the ground.
Acting Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar issued an order to inspect all cable cars in mountain areas and immediately close those that are not “safety compliant”.
Cableways carrying passengers and sometimes cars are common in the northern areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province and Gilgit-Baltistan and are vital for connecting villages and towns in areas where roads cannot be built.
In 2017, ten people were killed when a chairlift cable broke and passengers fell down a ravine in a mountain village near the capital, Islamabad.