Six children and two adults were trapped in a cable car in northwest Pakistan on Tuesday while a rescue operation was underway.
The children were using the cable car to cross a valley and reach the school when a cable of the cable car broke halfway through the course at an altitude of about 365 meters, in a remote mountainous area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province.
“The ropeway is suspended by a single rope. Inside the ropeway are at least eight occupants, mostly schoolchildren,” Abdul Basit Khan, a senior official with the rescue organization in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, told AFP.
An army helicopter arrived to rescue eight people, including six schoolchildren, who were stranded in midair on Tuesday after the cable of a chair lift broke at the Allai Tehsil in Battagram, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. pic.twitter.com/MfCXONA07r
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BREAKING ALERT: Chairlift rope broke in Alai Tehsil of Butgram district, 8 school children and 2 teachers are trapped since 6am, demand for immediate #helicopter help save lives!#Pakistan #Breaking news
tourism in pakistan pic.twitter.com/hfXZqKFhSA
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“For God’s sake, help us,” Gulfraz, a man trapped in the cable car, told Pakistan’s Geo News television channel over the phone, confirming eight people were on board.
“It has been almost five hours since we were trapped. The situation is so bad that one man has already passed out. A helicopter arrived, but it left without performing any operation.”
The National Disaster Management Agency said in a statement that the Pakistani military had been asked to carry out a rescue mission using a helicopter.
The funicular was suspended in the middle of a ravine surrounded by mountains, where this means of transport is often used to connect villages and towns.
Syed Hammad Haider, a senior official of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, said the cable car was suspended at about 300 to 360 meters.
“We have asked the KP government to provide a helicopter because rescue operations are not possible without the help of a helicopter,” he said.
Source: DN
