Battagram, AUG 22: The Pakistan Army’s Special Services Group (SSG) rescued five of the eight people — seven schoolchildren and a teacher — who have been dangling mid-air after the cable of a gondola broke in Allai Tehsil in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Battagram district, said Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Tuesday.
According to the military’s media wing, the ground operation to retrieve the remaining three people on the cable car is underway. SSG’s general officer commanding (GOC) is leading the rescue operation.
Before sunset, two of the children were rescued with the help of an army helicopter. However, rescue operation via copter was suspended due to darkness and the windy weather.
The army decided to start a ground operation to save the remaining six people stuck inside the cable car with alternative means.
Another cable car — smaller in size — has been hung on the same cable to retrieve the people. Moreover, the other cable car is also being used to deliver food and water to those stranded.
Moreover, the Pakistan Army has also brought in a local cable crossings expert for help.
Earlier in the morning, the open cable car became stranded halfway across a ravine and was hanging by a single cable after the other snapped, Shariq Riaz Khattak a rescue official at the site told Reuters.
Following the incident, helicopters of the Pakistan Army Aviation and the Pakistan Air Force participated in the rescue operation along with the SSG troops.
The rescue mission was complicated due to gusty winds in the area and the fact the helicopter’s rotor blades risk further destabilising the lift, said Khattak.
Initial report of incident
An initial report of the incident said that seven schoolchildren and a local person were travelling in the cable car to go to the Batangi Government High School.
According to the report, one cable of the gondola broke at around 7:45am which led to the cable car being stranded mid-air.
The cable car hands at a height of 6,000 feet. Abrar, Irfan, Usama, Rizwan Ullah, Ataullah, Niaz Muhammad, Sher Nawaz and Gul Faraz are stuck inside the lift.
The report said that Battagram’s deputy commissioner contacted Hazara’s commissioner after he received report about the incident. The DC asked for the arrangement of a helicopter. Moreover, the SSG team based in Kaghan Valley was also contacted after which the helicopter reached the location at 11:45am. Meanwhile, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) helicopter reached the site at 2pm.
The district administration, police, and two rescue teams are currently present at the location, the report said, adding that an emergency has been imposed at the nearby health centres and the District Headquarter Hospital (DHQ) Battagram has also been put on high alert.
Punjab’s DG of Rescue Dr Rizwan Naseer said that a height rescue team is also on standby and is ready for help.
Army to ‘continue rescue operation till night’
According to Geo News, Army Aviation and SSG teams tried to conduct the rescue operation for the fourth time to rescue people inside the cable car.
The operation had become very difficult as there was another cable 30 feet above the car which could have collided with the helicopter.
However, the rescue operation was conducted with extreme caution.
Moreover, the Pakistan Army also kept into consideration other options to continue the rescue operation after it becomes dark.
Speaking to Geo News, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Nazeer Ahmed assured that the children inside the cable car were fine. He said that they were in continuous contact with them.
Before two of the kids were retrieved, the rescue officials faced several difficulties due to gusty winds. When the Pakistan Army’s rescue helicopter approached the cable. it also started shaking which had led to the risk of the cable car losing balance.
Other options to conduct the rescue operation, which is being deemed risky, were also under consideration including a sling operation by the SSG team.
Wing Commander (retd) Asim Nawaz had said the sling operation should be started at the earliest.
Sling operations are aerial operations where large loads are moved in geographically difficult terrains.
“There is a possibility of bad weather in this area. It is better if the helicopter is 60 to 80 feet away from the cable car,” he had said.
Speaking about the operation, the former military officer said that a commando will approach closer to the cable car during the sling operation.
“A cable car stuck at a height of about 900 ft midway due to breakage in one of its cable in Battagram. 8 persons including 6 children [are] stranded,” the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said in a statement.
The statement said NDMA has provided coordination support to Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA).
“After coordination Pak Army helicopter has been despatched for [the] rescue operation,” it added.
The incident was confirmed by Mansehra Deputy Inspector General of Police Tahir Ayub who said there is no option but to rescue the stranded passengers through a copter.
The cable hangs in the middle of a deep ravine surrounded by stunning mountains, where cable cars are frequently used to connect remote villages and towns.
Syed Hammad Haider, a senior KP provincial official, said the cable car was hanging about 1,000 to 1,200 feet above the ground.
“We have requested the KP government to provide a helicopter because the relief activity is not possible without the help of a helicopter,” he said.
‘Passengers stuck for several hours’
Gulfaraz, a 20-year-old who is currently present on the cable car, told Geo News over the phone that he and other passengers have been stuck for more than six hours.
He shared that a 16-year-old passenger, who suffers from a heart condition, has been unconscious for the last three hours. Gulfraz shared that the teenager was going to the hospital through the cable car.
“We don’t even have drinking water in the cable car,” he complained.
Gulfaraz said the first wire broke at 7am while another cable broke down soon after.
“The first cable broke down after the cable car travelled a mile,” the 20-year-old said, adding that the passengers have been waiting for help since early morning.
Gulfaraz confirmed that there are eight people in the cable car of which six are students.
The ages of students are between 10 to 16 years old, he said.
Cable car located at 2 thousand meters
According to details released by PDMA, the cable car incident occurred at 8:30am in Pashto area of Battagram.
The cable car is located at a height of about two thousand meters and passes through rainwater channels in the middle of the mountains, the PDMA added.
The children, who have been stranded, were using the cable car to get to school in the mountainous area of Battagram.
Sonia Shamrose, the district police officer, told Geo News that all efforts were being made to rescue the people trapped in the cable car.
Zafar Iqbal, a school teacher, said that the students were coming to the school by cable car.
“The cable car is used to go from one place to another. In this area, 150 children come to school by cable car,” he said, confirming that two wires of the cable car broke down mid-air.
Caretaker PM orders inspection of all cable cars
Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has termed the incident alarming, directing the NDMA and PDMA to “urgently ensure safe rescue and evacuation of the 8 people stuck in the chairlift”.
“I have also directed the authorities to conduct safety inspections of all such private chairlift and ensure that they are safe to operate and use,” he added.
Faisal Karim Kundi, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader, has sought help requesting caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, interim Chief Minister KP Muhammad Azam Khan and Information Minister Feroze Jamal to take immediate action.
‘Risky affair’
A former pilot Syed Jawad told Geo News that the Pakistan Army Aviation is equipped to deal with the situation and has previously conducted rescue operations.
He added that the problem in today’s operation is that the Out of Ground Effect (OGE) will be conducted here, which is a very difficult process.
However, he added, that two of the military’s choppers are equipped to handle such an operation.
“The operation is conducted through the rope, which we refer to as sling operation,” he said.
Jawad said the passengers can be rescued by throwing the rope at the stranded passengers, so they could tie themselves with it and get pulled up slowly, while another way to rescue, he said, is through the hoist during which the passengers are pulled up through a seat which is descended into the affected carrier for them to sit in it.
The former pilot said that the weight of the passengers and chopper’s fuel while its hovers mid-air are crucial when assessing the rescue operation’s success.
“It can be a risky affair,” he added.
