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Eight people, including six children, were stranded 350 meters (1,150 feet) in the air over a mountainous region in Pakistan on Tuesday after a cable car broke.
The cable car got stuck midway over the ravine, hanging precariously by just one cable after the other one broke, said Shariq Riaz Khattak, a rescue official on the scene.
The cable snapped as the children went to school in a mountainous area in Battagram, about 124 miles (200 kilometers) north of Islamabad.
Pakistan’s caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar ordered authorities to utilize all the resources to complete the rescue operation as soon as possible.
Complex helicopter rescue underway
The complexity of the rescue operation is amplified by strong winds in the area, as well as the risk that the helicopter’s rotor blades could further destabilize the lift, he added.
“It has been nearly five hours since we are stuck mid-air. The situation is so bad that one man has already fainted. A helicopter arrived but left without conducting any operations,” one of the adults trapped in the chairlift told Pakistan television channel Geo News by phone.
The Pakistan military helicopter arrived on the scene after the group had been suspended in the air for several hours.
“It is going to be a highly risky mission. A slight miscalculation can result in a further disaster,” rescue official Bilal Faizi said.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
lo/fb (Reuters/AFP)
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