6 Children, Two Adults Stuck Mid-Air In Pakistan’s Cable Car; Chopper Rescues One Child

New Delhi: One out of the six children and two adults trapped all day in a cable car dangling 274 metres (900 feet) above a deep valley in Pakistan’s Battagram, a remote and mountainous area around 200 km north of Islamabad, has been successfully rescued, according to an official. Assistant Commissioner Jawad Hussain confirmed the development to Dawn.com, adding that the child was rescued with the help of a helicopter.

He earlier said that a team of the Pakistan Army’s Special Services Group (SSG) was on the way to the site, adding that troops of the military’s rapid response force were also on the ground. Television footage aired around 4.45 pm showed a rescuer suspended from a sling being lowered and positioned adjacent to the cable car, the report added.

The children, between 10 and 15 years of age,  were using the cable car to get to school when one cable broke, leaving the gondola tilting dangerously and dangling mid-air. However, Syed Hammad Haider, a senior official from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has claimed the cable car is hanging between 1,000 to 1,200 feet above the ground, NDTV reported.

The incident occurred in the Allai tehsil early morning — estimated between 7 am and 8 am.

The assistant commissioner said that the cable car was privately run by locals for transportation across rivers as there were no roads or bridges in the area.

Earlier, two helicopters belonging to the Pakistan Army and the Pakistan Air Force arrived at the site for a rescue operation. Two attempts were made to move towards the cable car. One of the helicopters then moved away.

A Dawn.com correspondent present at the site reported the second backup helicopter that continued to hover above the cable car also left after a while. Later, he said he could see a helicopter approaching the cable car with a “net”, but that too flew back.