All eight people aboard a stranded cable car in Pakistan have been safely rescued after one of the lines supporting the gondola snapped Tuesday (August 22). The incident prompted a risky and dramatic helicopter rescue that lasted the whole day.
Acting Pakistani Prime Minister Anwar Kakar commended the rescuers for their swift and safe response.
"Relieved to know that...all the kids have been successfully and safely rescued. Great teamwork by the military, rescue departments, district administration as well as the local people," he said.
Two adults and six children were on their way to school in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa when one of the gondola's cables snapped Tuesday morning, leaving them stuck some 900 feet (approx. 270 meters) above a valley, officials said.
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Movie-Like Rescue in Real Life
Footage released by helicopter crews involved in the rescue mission captured the dramatic moment when one of the children aboard appeared to jump from the cable car while holding onto the end of a rope dangling from a helicopter before being flown to safety, CNN reported.
Another footage was shared on social media showing locals and emergency workers using ropes to reel in another person attached to a platform by a harness.
Pakistani authorities were forced to pause helicopter rescues of the remaining passengers as night fell, but they were rescued through a zipwire, officials added.
It was revealed that cable cars were vital for children to get to school, especially for those who live in remote, mountainous areas. However, most of these infrastructures were, in Kakar's words, "dilapidated and non-compliant chairlifts" that should be closed immediately.
