Six children and two teachers have been trapped in a gondola suspended 274 meters (900 feet) above a ravine after a cable snapped in Pakistan. High winds are complicating an already “extremely risky” helicopter rescue mission, officials reported on Tuesday.
These children had been en route to school in a mountainous area located in Battagram, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) north of Islamabad when the gondola became stranded at 7 a.m. local time (0200 GMT).
Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority issued a statement revealing that a cable malfunction in the lift service had occurred. After unsuccessful attempts to fix the fault, two army helicopters were dispatched for a rescue operation.
The gondola is now suspended halfway over the ravine, held up by a single cable after the other one snapped, as explained by Shariq Riaz Khattak, a rescue official at the scene.
The rescue operation faces complications due to strong winds in the area, and there is concern that the helicopters’ rotor blades might further destabilize the gondola, Khattak added.
Military helicopters are currently hovering near the stranded cable car. Additionally, it was noted by a security official, speaking anonymously, that special services troops, trained in sling operations, are participating in this “extremely dangerous and risky operation.”
Pakistan’s interim Prime Minister, Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, expressed concern via a message on the X messaging platform (formerly Twitter). He stated, “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.”
