An expert team of Pakistan Army’s Special Services Group (SSG) has been called to rescue eight people, including six school children, who fell from a chairlift in Battagram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Tuesday. They got stuck in the middle due to a fault in the cable.
An army helicopter has reached the spot to facilitate the rescue operation and is currently conducting reconnaissance before launching the sling operation.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said the chairlift at a height of about 900 feet did not move due to a broken cable in Battagram. Eight people, including six children, are currently trapped.
The statement confirmed that NDMA has provided coordination support to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA). He further informed that after coordination, a helicopter of Pakistan Army has been dispatched for rescue mission.
The incident was confirmed by Deputy Inspector General of Police, Mansehra, Tahir Ayub, who said that the only option was to evacuate the stranded passengers by helicopter.
‘Passengers have been stranded for hours.’
Gulfraz, aged 20, who is currently on the chairlift, informed the media that he and fellow passengers have been stranded for over six hours.
A 16-year-old passenger, who suffers from heart disease, has remained unconscious for the past three hours, according to Gulfraz. He mentioned that the young man was using the chairlift to reach the hospital.
“We don’t even have access to drinking water in the chairlift,” he lamented.
Gulfraz revealed that the first cable snapped at 7 am, with the second one breaking shortly thereafter.
The 20-year-old individual stated that the initial cable malfunction occurred after the chairlift had covered a mile’s distance. He added that passengers had been awaiting assistance since the morning.
Gulfraz affirmed that there were a total of eight people on the chairlift, out of which six were students. When speaking to the media, he specified that the students’ ages ranged between 10 to 16 years.
Sonia Shamrose, the District Police Officer, informed Geo News that all possible efforts are being exerted to rescue the individuals trapped on the chairlift.
Zafar Iqbal, a school teacher, explained that the students were utilizing the chairlift to commute to school. “A chairlift is used for transportation in this region. Around 150 children in this area use the chairlift to reach school,” he stated, confirming that two of the cable car’s cables had become suspended mid-air due to the breakdown.
The Chairlift is situated at an altitude of 2000 meters.
According to the information provided by PDMA, the chairlift incident took place at 8:30 am in the Pashto region of Battagram.
The PDMA further explained that the chairlift is placed at an altitude of about two thousand meters and crosses a rainwater channel between the mountains.
The stranded children were using a chairlift to reach their school in the hilly area of Battagram.
Caretaker PM orders inspection of all chairlifts.
Caretaker prime minister anwaar-ul- haq kakar has described the incident as alarming has instructed the NDMA and PDMA to “Promptly ensure the safe rescue and evacuation of the 8individuals trapped in the chairlift”
“I have also instructed the authorities to carry out safety inspections of all such privately operated chairlifts, ensuring their safety for operation and use”, He further stated
