Dramatic rescue saves all 8 from stricken cable car in Pakistan

Colombo (News 1st) - In a remarkable rescue operation involving helicopters and zip lines high above the mountains in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, six children and two teachers were brought to safety from a cable car that was dangling precariously for 16 hours.

The first child was rescued by a commando dangling from a military helicopter. But the use of helicopters was discontinued as night fell and a zipline was used instead. Experts from a company that specializes in zipline work were flown in from another region and set up the line between the cable car and the ground to carry the passengers to safety one by one.

The final passenger was brought out shortly before midnight. All were flown to a regional hospital for medical tests after the ordeal.

The children, between the ages of 10 and 16, were brought out first. One of them had a heart condition, adding to the pressure on rescuers.

Cable cars are often used in areas where road networks are poor or nonexistent. The crisis began when one of the cables snapped on the fifth trip of the morning while it was carrying children from a village to a school on another mountain 2km away, leaving it dangling 900 feet above the ground.
Pakistani military helicopters arrived four hours later. But the area is some 9,000 feet above sea level, compounding difficulties for the helicopters to operate at such a high altitude. Commandos initially carried water and food to the cable car's passengers.