ISLAMABAD: A rescue mission using helicoptersto save six remaining people, including four children, on a cable car trapped mid-air in a mountainous region of Pakistan has been suspended due to poor visibility and high winds, officials said on Tuesday.Two children had been rescued by helicopter before the operation was shut down. Now locals who know the terrain well together with highly trained commandos are working together in a ground operation.
Under the new strategy, a smaller cable car would evacuate the remaining passengers one by one.
Elite commandos of the Pakistan army evacuated two children in a sling operation.They had been trapped for around 11 hours, a local police official said.
Television footage showed thousands of people clapping and raising printed slogans when the helicopter brought the first child to safety.
The locals, including relatives, have been gathered under the dangling cable car waiting for a miracle since the morning. They were clinging to hope, especially when the military helicopters arrived around noon (0700 GMT).
There were six children and two teachers initially trapped in the car, local police officials said. The commandos were rescuing the trapped people one by one in sling operations.Elite commandos from Pakistan's army began the operation using army helicopters, but it was slow going at first. Four helicopters took part in the operation.
Noorul Hadi Ahmed, a local who has been waiting at the scene among hundreds of people including the relatives and parents of the children, "It was perhaps the toughest day in the life of mountainous people. Our region has never seen such a thing." "It was a normal day even when the Doli (or Sanderi, as the cable car is known locally), was stuck. We thought it is going to be okay," Ahmed said."These things happen. Dolis get stuck and the local masons repair them mid-air. But this turned out to be different."
The commandos made several attempts to reach the trapped passengers and assessed the situation to devise a safe strategy.The rescue operation, televised live by local media, resembled an action thriller movie scene when a commando hanging from a sling reached the cable car and delivered water and medicines to keep them stable, in the first attempt.
In the fourth attempt, the commandos evacuated the first child in a sling operation. After the children reached safety, they were given first aid and medical care.
The children were travelling to school when one of the chairlift's cables snapped around 0745 am according to the local administration.
A trapped passenger named Gulfraz spoke with Geo TV and said they did not have drinking water and urged the authorities for swift action."The cable car is hinged with just one rope making a delicate, complicated, and risky operation. Wind of the helicopter wings can break the remaining rope," local police chief Tahir Ayub said.
Prime Minister Anwar ul Haq Kakar ordered authorities to utilize all the resources to complete the rescue operation as soon as possible.
"I have also directed the authorities to conduct safety inspections of all such private chairlifts and ensure that they are safe to operate and use," he wrote on the online platform X, previously known as Twitter.
Villagers in northern Pakistan often travel through chairlifts to cross rivers and cut the distance in hilly areas.
These chairlifts are operated privately and are often poorly maintained with no safety measures.