A dramatic rescue operation is underway in Pakistan: a cable car wire broke there in the morning when several children and two adults were traveling in a gondola. Two of the children have been rescued so far.
In the north of Pakistan, in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a risky rescue operation is ongoing: Eight people, including at least six schoolchildren, were traveling in a cable car in the morning when one of the supporting steel cables broke. Two of the children have since been rescued by helicopter after being stuck in the gondola for almost 11 hours.
Videos of the operation were shared on social media: You can see a soldier roping down from a helicopter to the gondola. Several military helicopters are involved in the rescue. These had initially provided the victims with water and medicines.
Pakistan fears for inmates
A 20-year-old told the Pakistani TV station Geo TV from the gondola the dramatic hours. “We don’t even have drinking water,” he complained. A teenager with heart problems collapsed and passed out for several hours. He was on his way to a clinic in the morning. The children and young people on board the gondola should be between eleven and 15 years old.
Acting Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar instructed the rescue authorities to mobilize all available resources for the operation. At a height of about 300 meters, the gondola is only hanging on a rope, as a local police chief said. “This makes the process delicate, complicated and risky”. A rescue official told the dpa news agency that every little miscalculation could lead to a catastrophe. The mission is made more difficult by the strong winds in the mountains. The rotor movements of the military helicopter could also destabilize the steel cable.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province is located in the northwest of the country and borders Afghanistan. Due to the inadequate infrastructure, privately operated cable cars are often the only means of transport. These are often poorly maintained, if at all.