emergencies
Cheers and relief: Dramatic rescue in Pakistan
The rescued receive first aid from villagers in Pashto. photo
© Nazir Mahood/AP/dpa
Two steel wires snap on a cable car in Pakistan. The gondola hangs on a single rope hundreds of meters above the ground. The dramatic rescue ends happily – but there is also criticism.
After the dramatic rescue of six children and two adults from a gondola in Pakistan’s president has called for an investigation into cable cars in the country. “I have to thank everyone, our military personnel, the local rescue workers and the entire administration, for their dedication and bravery in this extremely critical rescue,” Arif Alvi wrote on X, formerly Twitter, just before midnight (local time). At the same time, Alvi called for a “comprehensive investigation” of all lifts in the region.
More than 15 hours at high altitude
After its successful conclusion in the evening, the spectacular and highly dangerous rescue operation caused cheers and relief throughout the country. In the evening, helpers from the region had brought the last occupants of a gondola to safety, who had been hanging on a single rope hundreds of meters above the ground for more than 15 hours. Two steel wires on the gondola had previously snapped on Tuesday morning.
Special forces of the army had tried until nightfall to free the inmates in the valley in the north of the country. Two children were eventually rescued by commandos. When darkness fell, the commandos initially interrupted the rescue operation.
However, brave local residents are proceeding with the rescue after close consultation with the military, while the nation watched with suspense for the rescuers. They used devices on the wire to the gondola and first freed three other children and then the remaining occupants, as videos on social media showed. Hundreds of people gathered near the scene of the accident in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Weather was a risk factor
Residents in large parts of the country followed the extremely risky rescue operation on television. The helpers were also worried about the weather conditions in the mountains, which can change quickly. The rotor movements of the military helicopter could also have destabilized the steel cable. A soldier gave the children medicine and water at the beginning of the rescue operation.
A 20-year-old from the gondola described the dramatic hours to the Pakistani TV station Geo TV. A 16-year-old with heart problems collapsed and passed out for several hours. The boy was on his way to a clinic in the morning. What exactly happened to the boy after the rescue was initially unclear.
In the northern mountain regions of Pakistan, many residents use cable cars every day on their way to school or work, for example to cross valleys or rivers. The cable cars are often poorly maintained. The road network is less developed.