All stranded passenger in Battgram cable car incident succesfully rescued

All the eight people — seven schoolchildren and a teacher — who have been dangling mid-air after the cable of a gondola broke in Allai Tehsil in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Battagram district Tuesday were successfully rescued, reported 24NewsHD TV channel. 

The Pakistan Army's Special Services Group (SSG) general officer commanding (GOC) led the rescue operation.

Before sunset, two of the children were rescued with the help of an army helicopter. However, rescue operation via copter was suspended due to darkness and the windy weather.

The helicopter operation to rescue the stranded passengers of a chairlift was halted on Tuesday evening due to bad light and poor weather conditions after the first children were rescued.

The army decided to start a ground operation to save the remaining six people stuck inside the cable car with alternative means.

Another smaller cable car was hung on the same cable to retrieve the people. Moreover, the other cable car was also used to deliver food and water to those stranded.

Pakistan Army also brought in a local cable crossings expert for help who played a significant role in rescuing the passengers of the cable car through the ground operation.

Earlier, soon after getting an SOS call, a Pakistan Army helicopter dashed to Battagram Allai and started recce of the area.

Six children and two adults were using the chairlift when a cable broke at a height of up to 1,200 feet (about 365 metres) midway through its journey in a remote, mountainous part of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

A video of a helicopter emerged Tuesday evening carrying the first children from the cable car dangling all day over a deep ravine.

The scene showed someone strapped into a harness swinging from underneath a helicopter as crowds cheer in the background.

Several military helicopters had earlier in the day flown reconnaissance sorties and an airman was lowered by harness to deliver food, water and medicine, Tanveer Ur Rehman, a local government official, told AFP.

"This is a delicate operation that demands meticulous accuracy. The helicopter can not approach the chairlift closely, as its downwash (air pressure) might snap the sole chain supporting it," he said.

Three children fell unconscious in the day due to fear and anxiety.

Anxious crowds gathered on both sides of the ravine, which is several hours from any sizeable town.

"Every time the helicopter lowered the rescuer closer to the chairlift, the wind from the helicopter would shake and disbalance the chairlift making the children scream in fear," Ghulamullah, chairman of the Allai valley area, said.

Earlier, following an appeal by the students and the teachers to rescue them after two of the three cables holding the chairlift snapped, the Hazara Commissioner sent an SOS for the Army helicopter. Later, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government was requested to send another helicopter for the rescue operation.

Commandos of the Pakistan Army’s Special Services Group (SSG), expert in sling operations, soon reacxed to lead the rescue operation.

Several military helicopters flew reconnaissance sorties and an airman was lowered by a harness to deliver food, water and medicine, Tanveer Ur Rehman, a local government official, told AFP.

"This is a delicate operation that demands meticulous accuracy. The helicopter cannot approach the chairlift closely, as its downwash (air pressure) might snap the sole chain supporting it," he said.

Anxious crowds gathered on both sides of the ravine, which is several hours from any sizeable town.

Headmaster Ali Asghar Khan told AFP by phone that the children were teenage boys and students at his government high school Battangi Pashto.

"The school is located in a mountainous area and there are no safe crossings, so it's common to use the chairlift," Khan said.

"The parents are gathered at the site of the chairlift. What can they do? They are waiting for the rescue officials to get their children out. We are all worried."

Abid Ur Rehman, a teacher from another school in the area, said around 500 people had gathered to watch the rescue mission. "Parents and women are crying for the safety of their children," he told AFP.

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar in the meanwhile directed to immediately rescue the eight persons trapped in the chairlift at Pashto village in Battagram Allai.  

According to a statement released by the PM Office in Islamabad on Tuesday, the prime Minister directed the National Disaster Management Authority, Provincial Disaster Management Authority and all relevant rescue agencies to save students and teachers by utilizing all resources.

The prime minister also instructed to ensure safety arrangements on all such chairlifts in the hilly areas. He directed to immediately close the chairlifts which are in dilapidated condition and do not meet the safety standards.

The children were using the chairlift to cross the valley to get to school when a cable broke at a height of up to 1,200 feet midway through its journey in a remote, mountainous part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

"For God's sake help us," Gulfraz, a teacher stuck in the cable car, told a private TV channel by phone, confirming eight people were on board.

"It has been nearly five hours since we are stuck mid-air. The situation is so bad that one scared student has already fainted. A helicopter arrived, but left without conducting any operations."

The accident happened around 8:30 am local time, with residents using mosque loudspeakers to alert neighbourhood officials across the valley.

"The cable car is suspended by a single rope. There are a minimum of eight occupants primarily consisting of schoolchildren," Abdul Basit Khan, a senior official for the provincial rescue agency, told AFP.

The group had already been suspended in the air for more than four hours when a Pakistan Army helicopter arrived on the scene, according to images shown on local televisions.

"The cable car is stuck in a place where it is almost impossible to help without a helicopter," Zulfiqar Khan, an official with 1122 rescue service, told AFP.

The cable hangs in the middle of a deep ravine surrounded by stunning mountains, where cable cars are frequently used to connect remote villages and towns.

The National Disaster Management Agency said in a statement that six children and two adults were on board at a height of at least 900 feet.

Syed Hammad Haider, a senior Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) official, said the cable car was hanging about 1,000 to 1,200 feet above the ground. "We have requested the KP government to provide a helicopter because the relief activity is not possible without the help of a helicopter," he said.

 Meanwhile, Caretaker Interior Minister Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti directed to speed up the rescue operation to save the children and teachers stranded in Battagram chairlift.

On the instructions of the Prime Minister, Pakistan Army has been requested to join the rescue operation. He said all resources should be used in the rescue operation.

National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has provided coordination support to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to rescue eight persons stuck at a height of 900 feet in the chairlift.

According to a press release issued by the NDMA, Army helicopter had been dispatched for rescue operation.

Safety audit has been asked from all Provincial Disaster Management Authorities by the NDMA on tourist infrastructure in their respective areas.

 

Reporters Ahmad Mansoor and Zubair Awan

With inputs from Agencies