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An urgent rescue effort is under way in Pakistan for eight children and two adults trapped in a chairlift dangling more than 200 metres over a mountainous region in the country’s northwest.
The children were traveling to school in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa when one of the chairlift’s cables snapped at 9am local time on Tuesday, according to rescue official Bilal Ahmad Faizi.
A helicopter has reached the location of the chairlift, which is dangling 274 metres above the ground, Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority said.
Previously, a local government official said eight children were trapped with the adults at a height of 365 metres.
Tanveer Ur Rehman, a local Battagram district official, said rescue efforts were being conducted from the ground due to the height of the chairlift system.
“The chairlift is hanging 365 metres above ground,” he said.
“Rescue efforts are impossible without a helicopter, and experienced rescue officials are needed to ensure the rescue goes smoothly.”
The chairlift connects two communities in the region and runs on two cables, one of which snapped, Faizi said.
Tipu Sultan, a retired army brigadier and defence expert, warned that the helicopters themselves could make the situation worse but that the commandos would be well aware of that risk. Khan added that the pilots were flying “carefully”.
“Let us pray that those trapped in the cable car are safely rescued,” Sultan said.
Pakistan’s caretaker Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar has ordered all “dilapidated and non-compliant chairlifts” to close immediately, according to a statement from his office.
Many children who live in remote and mountainous parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province rely on cable cars to ferry them to school and back.
Some of these lack regular maintenance and can be a risky form of travel.
