Pakistan successfully rescued 8 passengers trapped in a cable car for 15 hours, a thrilling scene! Only one cable remains suspended in the air
A thrilling scene occurred in the mountainous areas of northwestern Pakistan on the 22nd: a cable car in operation suddenly malfunctioned, trapping 8 passengers in the air, including 6 children. In the following 15 hours, Pakistan carried out a difficult rescue operation from multiple sources, deploying helicopters, building temporary ropes, and finally rescuing all trapped personnel. Assault teams and pilots from the Pakistani Army and Air Force participated in the rescue efforts.
The cable car malfunction occurred in the mountainous area near Badagram in the Khyber Pashtun Province of northwestern Pakistan, approximately 200 kilometers north of the capital Islamabad.
In the early morning of that day, six children aged 10 to 16 took a cable car to school, and there were two adults in the same cable car carriage. At around 7 o'clock, when the cable car was running over a valley, one of the two cables hanging from the carriage suddenly broke, and the carriage was suspended in the air with only one remaining cable. Officials involved in the rescue operation, Sharik Riaz Hattak, told Reuters that the carriage was parked in the air about 275 meters above the ground.
The British Broadcasting Corporation quoted Pakistani media reports that local residents used amplifiers to call for help after discovering a cable car malfunction. Due to the remote location of the incident, the first helicopter arrived at the scene after hovering for over 4 hours in the above-mentioned carriage. Relatives and locals of the trapped individuals quickly gathered on both sides of the valley, watching helicopters carry out rescue operations in strong winds.
Due to the strong winds in the valley, helicopter rescue attempts were unsuccessful, but food and drinking water were successfully provided to the trapped personnel. On the other hand, helicopter propellers stir up strong air currents, which may make cable car carriages suspended in the air by just one cable more dangerous.
A video released on the BBC website shows a rescuer descending from a helicopter and rescuing a child from a cable car carriage. The two of them dangled heavily at the end of the rope and finally landed safely.
According to reports, the helicopter rescued two children in total. After dark, the helicopter rescue operation stopped, and rescue personnel turned on searchlights to continue the rescue. They invited a rope expert and arrived at the carriage along the remaining cables. They used makeshift simple hanging chairs to escort all the trapped people to the trees by the valley.
After more than 15 hours of the malfunction, all trapped personnel were rescued.
The fate of these trapped people touches the hearts of the entire population of Pakistan. As the rescue operation unfolds, people from all over Pakistan gather in front of televisions to monitor the progress of the operation.
Pakistani caretaker government Prime Minister Anwar Hakkar said on social media that it is gratifying to know that the children have been safely rescued, thanks to the "remarkable teamwork" of the military, rescue agencies, local governments, and local people.
Some mountainous areas in Pakistan often use cable cars as a means of transportation. At the location where the malfunction occurred, crossing the valley by cable car only took 4 minutes, while crossing the valley by mountain road took 2 hours.
