Pakistani School Transport "Dolly" Snaps and Leaves Passengers Hanging

Jakarta, Indonesia - Anwaar ul Haq Kakar, the country's acting prime minister, announced that after a 14-hour struggle on Tuesday, August 22, all eight people—six children and two adults—who were stranded on a cable car hanging hundreds of feet above a valley in northwest Pakistan had been rescued.

"Relieved to know that, Alhamdolillah, all the kids have been successfully and safely rescued. Great teamwork by the military, rescue departments, district administration, as well as the local people," he claimed in a statement published on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Six students and two instructors were on their way to school in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa when one of the gondola's cables snapped, trapping them 900 feet above a valley, according to officials. The rescue operation started on Tuesday morning local time.

According to a security source, cable crossing specialists had been attempting to save the kids one at a time by moving them onto a small platform along the cable.

TV footage showed one child being hoisted off the cable car in a harness and swinging side to side before being lowered to the ground just before the helicopter rescue operation was abandoned.

Pakistanis gathered around television screens to see footage of a rescue worker dangling from a helicopter rope near to the confined cabin as the rescue operation captivated the nation.

The cable car had made several journeys between the villages of Btangi and Jhengarie on Tuesday when it broke, according to Tanveer Ur Rehman, the deputy commissioner of the Battagram district, who also noted that previous attempts to rescue those stranded had been hindered by strong winds.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a lot of kids who live in isolated, mountainous areas rely on cable cars to get them to and from school. Some of these don't get routine maintenance and can be dangerous modes of transportation.

One of the passengers had informed Pakistani media source Geo News that two of the pupils aboard the cable vehicle were allegedly losing consciousness during the Tuesday rescue attempt. The traveler, who only went by the name Gulfaraz, pleaded with state officials to act. He claimed that the students, who ranged in age from 10 to 15, lacked even access to drinking water.

Gulfaraz, a 20-year-old passenger on the cable car, told local news station Geo News over the phone, "Our situation is precarious; for god's sake, do something." He stated that one of the kids, who was between the ages of 10 and 15, had fainted from heat exhaustion and fright.

Following reports of children throwing up, rescue workers provided the passengers anti-nausea medication, according to Ur Rehman, who added that those who were stranded also received medication for their hearts.

According to a statement from his office, the tragedy caused Pakistan's interim prime minister to order the immediate closure of all "dilapidated and non-compliant chairlifts".

Works Cited:

Armstrong, Kathryn. “Pakistan Cable Car: Relief as All Passengers Brought to Safety.” BBC News, BBC, 22 Aug. 2023, www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-66578894.

Saifi, Sophia, et al. “All 8 People Rescued from Stranded Cable Car in Pakistan after 14 Hour Ordeal.” CNN, Cable News Network, 22 Aug. 2023, edition.cnn.com/2023/08/22/asia/pakistan-chairlift-rescue-children-intl-hnk/index.html.

Image source: The Washington Independent