Pakistani cable car/chairlift helicopter rescue attempt.
Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2023 11:00 am
A military rescue is under way for six children and two adults trapped in a cable car over a ravine in Pakistan's north-west.
The group were on their way to school when one of the cables snapped, leaving it dangling 274m (900 ft) above ground, officials said.
Pakistan's acting PM has ordered rescuers to attend to the "alarming" incident in Battagram.
Helicopters have reached the car but the rescue's status is unclear.
The eight passengers were trapped for at least four hours before the first helicopter arrived, local media outlet Dawn reported.
The incident happened at about 07:00 local time (02:00 GMT) on Tuesday across the Allai valley in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Residents spotting the car stranded mid-air used loudspeakers to alert local officials to the crisis.
The open chair-lift is now being "suspended by a single rope", local rescue official Abdul Basit Khan told AFP news agency.
"For God's sake help us," Gulfaraz, a man stuck in the cable car, told Pakistan television channel Geo News by phone. He confirmed eight people were on board.
One of the students had fallen unconscious in the past three hours, he said, adding that students on board were aged between 10 and 15 years old.
He noted that anxious crowds had gathered on either side of the valley to watch the mission. Authorities are trying to spread nets underneath the car.
"People in our area are standing here and crying," Gulfaraz said, urging authorities to send immediate help.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-66578894