Pakistani officials are engaged in a frantic rescue operation following an incident where seven schoolchildren and an adult were left hanging perilously for hours in a cable car, suspended at an altitude of 6,500 feet.
This distressing event unfolded after two of the cable car’s cables snapped around 8:30 a.m. in Allai, within the Battagram district of Khyber-Pakhthunkwa Province. The cable car, a common means of transportation for residents in the mountainous northern region, was en route to a nearby school with children aged 10 to 12 on board.
As panic took hold among the passengers and their families, urgent pleas for help were issued. In response, authorities dispatched an army helicopter to the scene. Local television footage revealed the helicopter hovering some distance from the cable car while a commando descended on a rope, providing sustenance including food and water.
However, attempts to bring the helicopter closer to the cable car were met with difficulty as the car started to shake significantly, complicating the air rescue process.
Prior to the delivery of supplies, one passenger informed a local TV news network that they had been stranded for over six hours without access to food or water. Additionally, one child with a heart condition reportedly fainted due to the distressing situation. “My mobile phone battery is depleting rapidly,” the passenger shared.
The precise cause of the cable’s rupture, which seemingly left only one cable intact, remains unclear. Anwaar-ul Haq Kakar, the country’s interim prime minister, expressed his concern over the cable car accident, prompting him to order the initiation of a rescue operation.
Mr. Kakar also directed authorities to conduct safety inspections on all privately operated mountain cable cars, emphasizing the need to ensure their reliability and security, according to an official statement from his office.
This is a developing story.
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