At least six children and two adults were trapped inside a cable car after it stopped mid-way and dangled over a deep valley in Pakistan on Tuesday, even as a rescue helicopter hovered around it.
The cable broke at the height of up to 1,200 feet, as some children were using it to cross the Allai valley to get to school. The incident took place at 7 am local time in a remote and hilly part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
In a purported video showing the stuck cable car, a helicopter can be seen flying near it, as anxious locals gather on both sides of the valley.
Pakistan is praying the rescue mission get’s successful. Army Helicopters and SSG have been at the rescue of people stuck in Batgram Cable Car for more than seven hours or so. pic.twitter.com/SnbaN7yE17— Shiffa Z. Yousafzai (@Shiffa_ZY) August 22, 2023
A Pakistan Army helicopter was seen circulating near the gondola hanging over a deep ravine.
The people continued to be stuck for several hours, and the rescue by a military helicopter has reportedly started its operation. The incident took place at 7 am local time.
“It has been nearly five hours since we are stuck mid-air. The situation is so bad that one man has already fainted," a man stuck in the cable car told Geo News by phone.
“A helicopter arrived, but left without conducting any operations," he added.
Residents used loudspeakers of the local mosque to alert the neighbourhood across the valley.
The children were teenage boys and girls and studied at the government high school Battangi Pashto, the Headmaster Ali Asghar Khan told news agency AFP over the phone.
“The school is located in a mountainous area and there are no safe crossings, so it’s common to use the chairlift," Khan added.
Till now, nearly 500 people have gathered, including the parents of the children stuck in the cable, to see the rescue.