“The rescue operation has been completed. Two adults were the last to be rescued,” said Bilal Faizi of Pakistan’s emergency service Rescue 1122. Along with this, the army has also confirmed the successful completion of the rescue operation.
Video of the rescue operation showed a teenager dangling from a rope below the helicopter as the crowd cheered.
Faizi said rescuers have set up a temporary camp on top of the mountain and first aid is being administered.
Six children were going to school. At that time, around 7:00 am, the chairlift broke down mid-travel, high above the green Alai Valley. Residents used the mosque’s loudspeaker to inform the authorities about this and hundreds of people gathered on both sides of the valley.
Officer Rahman said that several military helicopters took off earlier in the day. An airman was lowered from the harness to deliver food, water and medicine.
Acting Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar posted on Twitter, “Brilliant teamwork by district administration with army, defense department, local people.” He had earlier issued instructions to inspect all chairlifts in the hilly areas and immediately shut down the unsafe chairlifts.
Headmaster Ali Asghar Khan said the children were students of his government high school Batangi Pashto. “The school is located in a hilly area and there are no safe crossings, so the use of chairlifts is common,” said Khan.
Abid ur Rehman, another school teacher in the area, said around 500 people had gathered to watch the rescue operation. “Parents and women started crying for the safety of their children,” he said.
Syed Hamad Haider, a senior official in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said the gondola was hanging about 1,000 to 1,200 feet above the ground.
Also read:
, Pakistan: President refuses to sign two major bills passed by Parliament
, Pakistan’s former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, close to Imran Khan, has been arrested
, Police investigating conspiracy and Pakistan connection in Noah violence: ADGP
(Apart from the headline, this story has not been edited by the NDTV team, it has been published directly from the syndicate feed.)