Strong gusts of wind are hampering an “extremely risky” helicopter rescue operation to free seven kids and one teacher trapped in a cable car dangling 274 metres (900 feet) above a ravine in Pakistan when a cable broke, officials said on Tuesday.
According to officials, the kids were using the gondola to travel to school in a mountainous area of Battagram district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, around 200 kilometres (125 miles) north of Islamabad, when they became stranded at 7 a.m. local time (0200 GMT).
A cable had snapped in the lift service, according to a statement from Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority, and two army helicopters had been sent for a rescue operation after fruitless attempts to remedy the problem.
The number of passengers has increased from the previously reported six pupils and two teachers to seven students and one instructor, according to Muzaffar Khan, a district administration officer in Battagram.
The rescue effort is challenging because of the strong winds in the area and the potential for lift instability caused by the helicopters’ rotor blades, according to Khattak.
He stated that there are two military helicopters circling close to the cable car that is stuck.
According to reports, special forces commandoes from the Pakistan Army – who have been trained in sling operations – are involved in the rescue operation.
Sling operations are airborne manoeuvres used to transport heavy cargo over challenging terrain.
In Pakistan’s northern mountainous regions, residents frequently use chair lifts to travel between villages.
According to local residents, the children were going to a high school in Batangai in Alai.
“We are helplessly looking at them but can’t help,” Abdul Nasir Khan, a local villager, said.
Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, the acting prime minister of Pakistan, voiced his concern over the situation in a statement on social media.
“I have also directed the authorities to conduct safety inspections of all such private chair lifts and ensure that they are safe to operate and use,” he said in a post.
