22-8-2023 (PESHAWAR) A group of eight people, including six children, were stranded for an entire day on Tuesday (August 22) in a cable car suspended over a deep valley in Pakistan. Military helicopters were present in the vicinity, preparing for a potential rescue operation.
The children were utilizing the chairlift to commute to school when one of the cables snapped at an altitude of approximately 365 meters, halting the journey in a remote and mountainous region of the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Gul Faraz, one of the adults trapped in the cable car, urgently appealed for assistance, saying, “The evening is coming nearer. Tell us why the helicopters are going back?” He had earlier implored local media, “For God’s sake help us.”
Several military helicopters conducted reconnaissance flights, and an airman was lowered by harness to deliver essential supplies such as food, water, and medicine, according to Tanveer Ur Rehman, a local government official.
“This is a delicate operation that demands meticulous accuracy. The helicopter cannot approach the chairlift closely, as its downwash (air pressure) might snap the sole chain supporting it,” explained Rehman.
Concerned onlookers gathered on both sides of the ravine, which is situated several hours away from any significant town.
Ghulamullah, chairman of the Allai valley area, recounted the distressing scene, stating, “Every time the helicopter lowered the rescuer closer to the chairlift, the wind from the helicopter would shake and disbalance the chairlift, making the children scream in fear,” as reported by Geo News.
WHAT CAN THEY DO?
The gondola malfunctioned at approximately 7 a.m. local time, prompting residents to use mosque loudspeakers to alert officials across the Allai valley.
Ali Asghar Khan, the headmaster of the government high school Battangi Pashto, confirmed that the stranded children were teenage boys and students at his school. He explained that due to the mountainous terrain and the absence of safe crossings, it was common for locals to rely on the chairlift for transportation.
“The parents are gathered at the site of the chairlift. What can they do? They are waiting for the rescue officials to get their children out. We are all worried,” Khan expressed.
Abid Ur Rehman, a teacher from another school in the area, revealed that approximately 500 people had assembled to observe the rescue operation. “Parents and women are crying for the safety of their children,” he disclosed.
Syed Hammad Haider, a senior provincial official from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, stated that the gondola was suspended at a height ranging from 305 to 365 meters above the ground.
In response to the incident, caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar issued a directive for the inspection of all chairlifts in mountainous regions. Non-compliant chairlifts are to be immediately closed down to ensure safety.
Cable cars that transport passengers, and sometimes vehicles, are prevalent throughout the northern areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and Gilgit-Baltistan. They play a vital role in connecting villages and towns in areas where road construction is challenging.
In 2017, a chairlift cable snapped near the capital Islamabad, causing the deaths of 10 individuals who plummeted into a ravine in a mountain hamlet.
#BREAKING
FOURTH (4) CHILD RESCUED by the Pakistani military.????: #Pakistan Air Force Leonardo AW-139 Seahawk helicopter rescues child from #Battagram cable car after 11 hours trapped in the chairlift. Army helicopters and SSG commandos, Shahbaz team paratroopers participated. pic.twitter.com/BZsmTI5uUT
— The STRATCOM Bureau (@OSPSF) August 22, 2023
