'Ttuk' Sound from 274m High... 14 Hours of Fear Due to Cable Car Malfunction

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A cable car carrying children in a canyon in Pakistan stopped at a height of 274 meters, and the passengers were rescued after 14 hours.

Young people rescued from the cable car are receiving emergency relief measures. [Image source=AP Yonhap News]

On the 22nd (local time), British BBC and other foreign media reported that on the 21st, a cable car installed over a river canyon in the Batagram area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan, carrying eight passengers, stopped around 7 a.m., and a zipline was deployed to rescue them after 14 hours.

The accident occurred when one of the cable car's steel cables suddenly snapped, leaving the passengers hanging in midair at a height of over 270 meters.

Cable car in a precarious state [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

In many mountainous areas of Pakistan where road access is difficult, such cable cars serve as the only means of transportation between remote mountain villages and across rivers. The passengers at the time of the accident were six children and two adults, on their way to school.

A nearby school teacher said, "Most of the passengers were students aged 10 to 15," adding, "About 150 students use the cable car to commute to school."

About five hours after the accident, a rescue helicopter arrived at the scene, but due to strong winds and concerns that the remaining cable might be damaged by the helicopter's rotor blades, it was excluded from the rescue operation.

Ultimately, local rescue authorities connected a temporary chairlift to the remaining intact cable and deployed an additional zipline, approaching the stopped cable car to rescue the passengers. As a result, all eight passengers were rescued 14 hours after the accident.

On the 22nd (local time), a cable car carrying 8 passengers stopped 274 meters above the ground in Pakistan. [Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

It was reported that two children lost consciousness while enduring 14 hours without drinking water in the cable car, but fortunately, all are reported to be in no life-threatening condition.

Anwar ul Haq Kakar, the interim Prime Minister of Pakistan, posted on X (formerly Twitter), "It was excellent teamwork between the rescue team and local residents," and added, "I am relieved that all the children were rescued."

He further instructed, "Inspect all cable cars in mountainous areas and shut down any that are unsafe."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.