Eight Rescued From Pakistan’s Troubled Cable Car

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By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

ISLAMABAD (Worthy News) – Pakistan’s caretaker prime minister thanked all involved in the daring rescue of eight people trapped in a cable car dangling high above a valley in the north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar congratulated the military and others for the success in Tuesday’s drama that transfixed a nation known for a notoriously bad safety record.

Pakistanis crowded around televisions in shops, offices, restaurants, and hospitals to see six trapped children, aged between 10 and 16 years old, along with two adults, return to the ground.

“Relieved to know that … all the kids have been successfully and safely rescued,” Kakar added on X, the service formerly known as Twitter. “Great teamwork by the military, rescue departments, district administration, as well as the local people.”

Pakistan’s military explained that the rescue involved the commandos, pilots from the army, and an air force backed by local authorities.

As the children were handed over to their families, most burst into tears, said Nazir Ahmed, a senior police officer. “Everyone was praying for this moment,” he recalled. He said villagers “hugged the commandos” and other rescuers.

Military commandos staged a daring and delicate rescue using helicopters and a makeshift chairlift in the live televised rescue operation.

DAYLONG ORDEAL

The daylong ordeal began when the six children got into the gondola for a school trip accompanied by the two adults.

Known by locals as “Dolly,” the cable car links the village of Jangri to Batangi, where the school is located.

But then a cable reportedly snapped, bringing the car to a halt and trapping the group midair. They were helpless, suspended hundreds of meters (feet) above a remote, mountainous landscape.

One of the children, a teenage boy, has a heart condition and was unconscious for several hours, an adult on board named Gulfaraz told local media.

Six long hours passed before a helicopter arrived. When the rescue began, at least one child plucked out of the car could be seen in video footage hanging at the end of a cable as he was winched up to the aircraft.

But the choppers also added an element of danger.

The air currents churned up by the whirling blades risked weakening the only cable holding the car aloft and preventing it from crashing to the bottom of the river canyon in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province’s Battagram district.

CROWDS WATCHING

Crowds, including relatives of those trapped, gathered along the ravine, anxiously watched on as military helicopters battled against the strong winds to lower commandos to the stranded car.

While awaiting help, the group hung precariously 350 meters (1,150 feet) above ground, the disaster management authority said.

It underscored the poor infrastructure for villagers in the mountainous area, located at an altitude of 2000 meters (6562 feet) above sea level.

In 2017, 10 people were killed when a cable car fell into a ravine hundreds of meters (feet) deep in the popular mountain resort of Murree after its cable broke.

Villagers frequently use cable cars to get around Pakistan’s mountainous regions. Kakar said he ordered safety inspections of the country’s cable cars and chairlifts.

In 2017, 10 people were killed when a cable car fell into a ravine hundreds of meters (feet) deep in the popular mountain resort of Murree after its cable broke.

Yet that was not an isolated tragedy, as every year, people die or are injured while traveling in them. Critics say that cars are often poorly maintained in the Islamic nation.

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