Minors stranded in gondola lift in northern Pakistan

Authorities rescued at least two children from a cable car in a dangerous operation. The minors were detained for more than ten hours and were together with six other people.

So far, “we have confirmation that two children have been rescued and a third is on its way,” he said EFE spokesman for the rescue service Bilal Faizi.

For rescue tasks, the intervention of helicopters is necessary, in addition, a rescue worker has to hang on a rope and with a sling to be tied to the passengers one by one and then lift them to the plane.

It is starting to get dark, “but since the pendulum operation has been successful, we are told that it has been decided to continue even in the dark. Ideally, it is risky to continue the operation in the dark, but sometimes you have to go beyond the rules because human lives are involved,” said Faizi.

The accident occurred in the morning in Allai, northern Pakistan, in a mountainous region after two cables of a cable car broke, stranding the hut in which six children and two adults were attending school.

Several Army and Air Force helicopters were flown to the scene for the operation. The images from the television channels show how an armed forces commando disembarks from an airplane to establish communication with the passengers in the cabin.

However, the operation has several complications, such as high winds and another cable suspended about 10 meters above the cabin, posing a collision risk for the helicopters, he said. EFE the emergency spokesman for the northern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Bilal Faizi.

In addition, the footage of the helicopter flying over the cabin shows how the gust of wind caused by the propellers wobbles the vehicle, which hangs very delicately in the air, further complicating operations.

The authorities fear that the cable could break due to the air pressure, so the rescue teams are investigating other methods to help the eight people affected.

There is also the urgency to advance as far as possible before sunset, as once night falls the helicopters will be unable to fly over.

The spokesperson did not rule out “the possibility of conducting ground surgery overnight,” adding that hospitals have been put on alert.

As reported by phone to Geo News by one of the captive adults, the students riding the cable car are between the ages of 10 and 16, and one of them with a special medical condition passed out from panic.

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