An army helicopter arrived to rescue eight people, including six school children, who were left stranded mid-air after a chairlift’s cable broke down in the Allai Tehsil in Battagram, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Tuesday.
“A chairlift stuck at a height of about 900 ft midway due to breakage in one of its cable in Battagram. 8 persons including 6 children stranded,” the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said in a statement.
The statement said NDMA has provided coordination support to Provincial Disaster Mangaement Authority (PDMA).
“After coordination Pak Army helicopter has been despatched for rescue operation,” it added.
The incident was confirmed by Mansehra Deputy Inspector General of Police Tahir Ayub who said there is no option but to rescue the stranded passengers through a copter.
Gulfaraz, one of the passengers on the chairlift, said that the first wirebroke at 7am after which another one also broke.
Sonia Shamrose, the district police officer, told Geo News that all efforts were being made to rescue the people trapped in the chairlift.
Zafar Iqbal, a school teacher, said that the students were coming to the school by the chairlift.
“The chairlift is used to go from one place to another. In this area, 150 children come to school by chairlift,” he said, confirming that two wires of the cable car broke down mid-air.
Faisal Karim Kundi, the Pakistan Peoples Party leader, has sought help requesting caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, interim Chief Minister KP Muhammad Azam Khan and Information Minister Feroze Jamal to take immediate action.
Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has termed the incident alarming, directing the National Disaster Management Authority and Provincial Disaster Management Authority to “urgently ensure safe rescue and evacuation of the 8 people stuck in the chairlift”.
“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 added.
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