Pakistan: Six children and two teachers are trapped in a chairlift dangling 274m above the gorge
An “extremely risky” rescue operation is underway to rescue six children and two teachers trapped in a chairlift suspended 900 feet (274 m) above a gorge in Pakistan.
Rescue workers try to use a helicopter to free the eight people who are stuck high in the air after a cable ruptured on Tuesday.
The chairlift spans a river and connects villages in Battagram District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. It is used by the villagers to shorten the distance to nearby schools, government offices and other businesses.
The children had taken the chairlift to school but had been stuck since 7am local time (3am in the UK).
Taimoor Khan, a spokesman for the Disaster Management Agency, said a helicopter had been dispatched to the site on the PM's orders to try to get the eight people off the chairlift.
Acting Prime Minister Anwaar ul Haq Kakar said he had ordered authorities to check the safety of all private chairlifts.
A rescue is underway for eight people trapped in a chairlift in Pakistan. Image: National Disaster Management Authority Pakistan
Pakistan's national disaster management agency said in a statement that a cable in the elevator service had snapped and attempts to fix the fault had been unsuccessful.
A security official who asked to remain anonymous said the “extremely dangerous and risky operation” involved special forces trained in slingshot operations.
A picture of the chairlift shows the compartment hovering high above the gorge with a clear tilt to the side.
A rescue worker said one child passed out “due to heat and fear.”
Two army helicopters were dispatched to the scene of the accident, but the rescue mission has been hampered by the gusty winds
and the fact that the helicopter's rotor blades pose a risk of further lift destabilization, he said.
Army commandos could be seen on local television trying to lower themselves from the helicopters to the gondola on ropes.
Image: Zahid Khan Swati
Image: @PakistanJannatt
The incident comes several years after ten people were killed in 2017 when a cable car installed by villagers in the popular mountain resort of Murree broke and plunged into a gorge several meters deep.
