What we know so far

• Eight passengers stuck in a cable car in KP’s Battagram
• High winds making it difficult for rescue mission
• Sling operations under consideration
• Interim PM Anwaarul Haq Kakar calls for inspection of all private chairlifts
• Helipad established near the accident site
• All eight were rescued

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The rescue operation was successfully concluded after all of the eight people were rescued who were trapped inside a cable car at 600 feet for almost 15 hours in KP’s Battagram.

The remaining six people were rescued through a zip line while two were rescued earlier in the Pak army’s helicopter rescue operation which was halted due to nightfall, Inter-Services Public Relations said.

ISPR sources said that three people had been rescued by army efforts, while locals and Rescue 1122 had worked together to save another two people.

The ground operation was started as a substitute and a small cable car was placed on the wire in an attempt to reach the stuck cable car. The rescue teams were taking food to the people while planning to evacuate the people one by one through the small cable car.

Before halting the helicopter operation, SSG commandos carried out a ‘sling operation’ pulling up the two schoolboys to the helicopter that hovered at a safe distance above the cable car, which dangled with a single wire after two other cables snapped.

Sling operations are aerial operations where large loads are moved in geographically difficult terrains.

The Pak army has brought cable-crossing experts from the northern areas to help in rescuing the trapped people.

Caretaker Interior Minister Senator Sarfraz Bugti announced the conclusion of the rescue operation in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Thankful to Allah that the rescue process at Battagram has successfully concluded. All appreciation for our valiant armed forces personnel, administration & locals for their selflessness and determination in carrying out this complex operation,” he wrote.

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar credited the armed forces, rescue department and local administration for contributing to the rescue operation.

“Relieved to know that Alhamdolillah all the kids have been successfully and safely rescued. Great team work by the military, rescue departments, district administration as well as the local people,” he wrote on X.

Names of rescued

1. Irfan s/o Amrez
2. Niaz Muhammad s/o Umer Zeb
3. Rizwan s/o Abdul Quyyum
4. Gul Faraz s/o Hakim Dad
5. Sher Nawaz s/o Shah Nazar

Earlier, PTV reported that the Pak army is considering continuing the rescue operation even after nightfall to rescue eight including six children who were trapped inside the chairlift.

“A team of Army Aviation and SSG is going to make another attempt for the rescue operation. This has become a very difficult operation as there is another wire 30 feet above the lift that could hit the helicopter - so extreme caution is being taken,” it stated.

Pakistan Army will continue and complete the rescue operation even in case of nightfall.

Earlier, a helicopter rescue mission was hampered by high winds as the chairlift is dangling 600 feet above.

The children and two teachers have been trapped inside the chairlift for over seven hours after a cable car snapped, officials said on Tuesday.

They added that helicopters and ground troops were also taking part in the rescue operation. Troops were preparing to install a new cable.

Special Service Group (SSG) commandos made a second attempt to rescue the people at 2:06pm, Aaj News correspondent Shahid Chaudhry said. No one was rescued in the first attempt, which started at around 12:20pm, when commandos entered the cable car through a rope. They managed to deliver food to them.

Helipad established near the accident site

Tahir Ayub, DIG of Hazara said that a helipad has been established on the mountain in front of the accident site and a vehicle equipped with all emergency equipment has been deployed at the helipad.

The preparations for the rescue operation have been completed while medicines and food have been delivered to the trapped by helicopter, he added.

DIG Tahir further said that all the rescued people will first go through a medical checkup once the operation is successfully completed and the affectees will be moved to the hospital in case of any medical complication.

Officials told Aaj News that students of classes 8 and 9 were among the people stuck in the cable car in the Allai Jhangray Pashto area. They were named Abrar, Irfan, Gulfaraz, Usama, Rizwan, Attaullah, Niaz Muhammad, and Sher Nawaz.

A rescue operation would be carried out in a “very careful and deliberate manner” after making an aerial reconnaissance, said a statement from the government.

“This is a very risky operation as the lift can break due to the slight imbalance of the lift and the air pressure of the helicopter so the conditions are being evaluated very carefully,” it said.

“The chairlift is suspended by a single rope,” Abdul Basit Khan, a senior official for the provincial rescue agency, told AFP.

The news of the cable car breakdown was reported early in the morning – estimated between 7am and 8am – when a video of the incident was shared with local reporters. Footage showed a couple of men speaking in Pashto about the grave incident. It showed a cable car stuck in midair and a large number of people gathered on the ground to see the cable car.

The local administration had made special announcements in mosques for rescue operations.

The children were using the chairlift to cross the valley to get to school when a cable broke at a height of up to 900 feet midway through its journey in a mountainous region.

Sling operations

One security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that special services troops, trained in sling operations, are involved in this “extremely dangerous and risky operation”.

Sling operations are aerial operations where large loads are moved in geographically difficult terrains.

“All efforts are being made by Pakistan army to rescue the stranded people in the lift.”

People who live in the northern mountainous regions of Pakistan often use chair lifts for transport from one village to another.

Rescue mission

“Ten minutes ago, an army helicopter reached here so they are assessing the points and our teams on the site, on the land, were also holding a jumping sheet in order to avoid any disaster,” Rescue 1122 official Naseem Ahmed told Aaj News at 12:15pm.

The second military helicopter arrived at the site at about 1:25pm, according to an update from our correspondent. But the operation was temporarily halted due to high winds.

“The cable car is stuck in a place where it is almost impossible to help without a helicopter,” Zulfiqar Khan, an official with Rescue 1122 service, told AFP.

The rescue mission is complicated due to gusty winds in the area and the fact the helicopter’s rotor blades risk further destabilising the lift, Shariq Riaz Khattak a rescue official at the site told Reuters.

Cable hanging over 900 feet above ground: NDMA

Syed Hammad Haider, a senior Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 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.

The chairlift got stuck in the middle due to a broken cable in Battagram at a height of about 900 feet, according to a social media post from the National Disaster Management Authority.

“After co-operation with PDMA and Pakistan Army, an army helicopter has been dispatched for the rescue operation,” it said.

‘For God’s sake help us’

“For God’s sake help us,” Gulfraz, a man stuck in the cable car, told Geo News by phone, confirming eight people were on board.

“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.”

The incident happened around 7:00 am local time.

Anxious crowds have gathered on both sides of the ravine, which is several hours from the nearest main town.

‘What can they do?’

Headmaster Ali Asghar Khan told AFP by phone that the children were teenage boys and students of his government high school Battangi Pashto.

“The school is located in a mountainous area and there are no safe crossings, so it’s common to use the chairlift,” Khan said.

“The parents are gathered at the site of the chairlift. What can they do? They are waiting for the rescue officials to get their children out. We are all worried.”

Abid Ur Rehman, a teacher from a different school in the area, said around 500 people have gathered to watch the rescue mission.

“The scenes here are filled with intense emotions, parents and women are crying for the safety of their children,” he told AFP.

Cable cars that carry passengers and sometimes cars are common across the northern areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and Gilgit-Baltistan and are vital in connecting villages and towns in areas where roads cannot be built.

Interim PM calls for inspection of all private chairlifts

In reaction to the development, Caretaker prime minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar described the chairlift accident as “really alarming”. He has directed the NDMA, PDMA and district authorities to ensure the safe rescue and evacuation of the eight people stuck in the chairlift.

“I have also directed the authorities to conduct safety inspections of all such private chairlifts and ensure that they are safe to operate and use,” Kakar said.

Earlier, Caretaker interior minister Sarfraz Ahmed Bugti instructed the authorities to speed up the rescue operation to save the children and teachers trapped inside the cable car.

He requested the Pakistan Army to join the rescue operation.

(With input from AFP and Reuters)