The Pakistani authorities have successfully completed this Tuesday the rescue of eight people, including six children, who remained trapped in the cabin of a cable car in the north of the country for more than 12 hours, through a dangerous operation that required air assistance. of various helicopters.
“Relieved to learn that all the children have been successfully and safely rescued. Great teamwork by the military, rescue departments, district administration and local people,” Pakistan’s acting Prime Minister Anwaarul said. Haq Kakar.
Part of the operation involved hanging a rope from a helicopter with a sling that had to be attached to the passengers, one by one, and then lifted to the aircraft.
Rescue service spokesman Bilal Faizi had told EFE earlier that darkness made the air operation more dangerous but that the authorities were trying to continue despite the risks.
The accident took place at 8:00 a.m. in the town of Allai, a mountainous area in northern Pakistan, when two ropeway cables broke, stranding the cabin, which was carrying a group of six children and two adults on their way to the school.
Videos recorded by residents show one of the children being rescued with a rope system made by the residents themselves, while the armed forces carried out the air maneuver.
Several Army and Air Force helicopters were flown to the scene for the operation. The images from television channels show a commando of the military forces hanging down from an aircraft to establish communication with the passengers in the cabin.
However, the operation faces several complications, such as strong winds and another cable that hangs about ten meters above the cabin and poses a risk of collision for the helicopters, Faizi told EFE.
In addition, the images of the helicopter flying over the cabin show how the gust of wind caused by the propellers makes the vehicle, which hangs very fragile in the air, wobble, further complicating operations.
The authorities fear that the cable could break due to the air pressure, before which the rescue teams inspect other methods to help the eight affected.
As reported by phone by one of the trapped adults to Geo News, the students riding the cable car are between 10 and 16 years old, and one of them with a special medical condition fainted due to panic.
