Pakistan cable car – live: 15-year-old survivor says dramatic rescue gives him ‘a second life’
Rescuers pulled those trapped along zipwire by hand after military helicopters stood down for night
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Your support makes all the difference.A student who was stuck in a cable car suspended over a ravine in northwest Pakistan has spoken out about the 15-hour ordeal.
“I thought it was my last day and I will be no more,” Attaullah Shah was quoted as saying by AFP.
The 15-year-old, one of seven students travelling on the chairlift when one of its cables snapped, expressed gratitude for having survived the incident. “God has granted me a second life,” he said.
The families of the students rescued from the broken-down cable car erupted with joy as the last child was freed late last night, an official said.
Night fell as the first of the students was rescued and it was several more hours until the cable car was finally cleared of passengers.
“People kept praying until the last person was rescued,” emergency official Waqar Ahmad told AFP. “Once everyone had been rescued, the families started crying with joy and hugging each other.”
Pakistan’s government confirmed the rescue mission was complete some 15 hours after the car first got stuck, and declared inspections of cable cars will be carried out across the country.
ICYMI: At least 150 students use cable car every day to reach school
The cable car which got stuck on Tuesday was used by scores of children every day to cross a valley and reach school. A local teacher from Battagram, identified by local media by just his first name Iqbal, said at least 150 students take the cable car to and from school daily.
The chairlift was left dangling from 7am on Tuesday until last night, suspended 900ft above a ravine, after one of its cables snapped.
The teacher explained that due to the lack of road facilities, students have no choice but to take the cable car if they want to reach school.
“There are no other arrangements,” he said.
After Tuesday’s 15-hour ordeal, Pakistan’s government has ordered an investigation into all cable cars nationwide. In remote areas, these modes of transportation are often constructed illegally by locals in the absence of other infrastructure.
A senior official from the region, Sonia Shamroz, highlighted the need to maintain cable cars and chairlifts in the area because of their frequent use and said that it was extremely important since children in these regions use them as their only mode of transport.
‘I thought it was my last day’: Boy, 15, rescued from Pakistan cable car says
One of the eight survivors of the 15-hour cable car ordeal in Pakistan has recounted his racing thoughts during the ordeal.
“I thought it was my last day and I will be no more,” Attaullah Shah was quoted as saying by AFP.
The 15-year-old expressed gratitude for having survived the incident that began early on Tuesday morning while he and other students were on their way to school in northwest Pakistan’s Battagram.
“God has granted me a second life,” he said.
Yesterday the cable car got stuck midway across a 900ft (274m) ravine when one of the two lines carrying the car snapped.
Survivors of Pakistan cable car identified
The eight individuals stranded in a cable car in Pakistan’s Battagram have been identified. The cable car dangled hundreds of feet above a ravine in northwest Pakistan yesterday until passengers could finally be rescued.
Local media identified the survivors by their first names: Abrar, Irfan, Usama, Rizwan Ullah, Ataullah, Niaz Muhammad, Sher Nawaz and Gul Faraz.
It took about 15 hours to rescue the last person after the cable snapped and families broke out in cries as they reunited with their children.
Are cable cars used in Pakistan safe?
Due to the absence of conventional infrastructure, improvised cable cars are utilised in distant regions of Pakistan. Despite the inherent risks, these cable cars serve as essential transportation solutions for communities with limited alternatives.
According to local media, these makeshift cable cars are commonly employed in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Gilgit Baltistan, and eastern Mansehra. These regions encounter geographical obstacles and have limited infrastructure, including schools and roads.
Geo TV reported that the necessity of connecting communities in these isolated areas has driven locals to create these cable cars using leftover materials, often without formal permits.
These cable cars are often built by the local communities, primarily from discarded materials like those from pick-up trucks. These cabins are then attached to cables, sometimes made of scrap iron, using ropes.
While cable cars present a practical solution for the lack of conventional infrastructure in certain regions of Pakistan, safety concerns remain.
In 2017, an illicit cable car in Murree, Punjab, crashed, claiming the lives of 11 passengers.
Just last December, a cable car mishap occurred in Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where a rope snapped and 12 children were stranded and had to be rescued.
What happened inside the fated cable car as it dangled precariously above a ravine
The eight individuals, including several students, huddled together inside the cable car and prayed for their safety, CNN reported.
The passengers were on the way to their school when the cable snapped and left them hanging about 900ft in the air.
They reportedly huddled together in fear as their cries were left unheard. But after 15 hours – with the help of helicopters, zipliners and prayers — the group of eight were brought back to safety.
ICYMI: Cable car passenger recalls moment of horror
One passenger on the stranded cable car recalled the moment of horror when the cable snapped yesterday.
The unidentified passenger — one among the eight — told a local TV channel that one of the other students on the cable car, who had a heart condition, fainted as the cable car kept dangling above the deep ravines in northwest Pakistan.
His own mobile battery was “depleting fast” and he had no means left to contact anyone during the initial moments after the cable snapped.
Once the rescue effort ensued, villagers on the ground watched in growing concern as the ordeal dragged on.
“They are in front of us but we are helpless – observing them and unable to provide any help,” Mufti Hasan Zaib, a religious scholar from the village told New York Times. One of his relatives was stranded on the cable car.
‘I thought it was my last day’: Boy, 15, rescued from Pakistan cable car says he has been given ‘second life’
One of the children who was stranded in a cable car over a ravine in Pakistan has said he did not believe he would survive the 15-hour ordeal.
The incident occurred on Tuesday in northwest Pakistan’s Battagram, when seven students were travelling to school in the mountainous area accompanied by one adult.
During their commute, one of the two cable lines carrying the cable car snapped at around 8.30am local time and led to a 15-hour-long rescue operation with military helicopters and zipliners.
“I thought it was my last day and I will be no more,” Attaullah Shah was quoted as saying by AFP.
The 15-year-old expressed gratitude for having survived the incident. “God has granted me a second life,” he said.
Boy, 15, rescued from Pakistan cable car says he has been given ‘second life’
Seven students and one adult were stranded for around 15 hours with rescuers using military helicopters and zipliners to finally set them free
Watch: Moment Pakistan cable car rescue team winch child to safety captured in dramatic video footage
This is the dramatic moment one of six children stuck in a cable car in Pakistan was winched to safety today.
Rescue teams are battling to reach six children and two adults stuck in a cable car in Pakistan.
The youngsters were travelling to school in the mountainous region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa when the chairlift’s cable snapped some 900ft above the ground.
Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said a helicopter was able to reach the location of the lift. However, reaching the youngsters in the lift is a more difficult operation.
Footage shows how one of the rescue team was lowered to the cable car and carefully removed a child.
Moment Pakistan cable car rescuers winch child to safety captured in dramatic video
This is the dramatic moment one of six children stuck in a cable car in Pakistan was winched to safety today. Rescue teams are battling to reach six children and two adults stuck in a cable car in Pakistan. The youngsters were traveling to school in the mountainous region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa when the chairlift's cable snapped some 900ft above the ground. Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said a helicopter was able to reach the location of the lift. However, reaching the youngsters in the lift is a more difficult operation. Footage shows how one of the rescue team was lowered to the cable car and carefully removed a child.
ICYMI: At least 150 students use cable car every day to reach school
The cable car which got stuck on Tuesday was used by scores of children every day to cross a valley and reach school. A local teacher from Battagram, identified by local media by just his first name Iqbal, said at least 150 students take the cable car to and from school daily.
The chairlift was left dangling from 7am on Tuesday until last night, suspended 900ft above a ravine, after one of its cables snapped.
The teacher explained that due to the lack of road facilities, students have no choice but to take the cable car if they want to reach school.
“There are no other arrangements,” he said.
After Tuesday’s 15-hour ordeal, Pakistan’s government has ordered an investigation into all cable cars nationwide. In remote areas, these modes of transportation are often constructed illegally by locals in the absence of other infrastructure.
A senior official from the region, Sonia Shamroz, highlighted the need to maintain cable cars and chairlifts in the area because of their frequent use and said that it was extremely important since children in these regions use them as their only mode of transport.
‘I saw a miraculous rescue happening with my own eyes’
One of the survivors of the Pakistan cable car ordeal has called the rescue “miraculous”.
Fifteen-year-old Osama Sharif said: “I had heard stories about miracles, but I saw a miraculous rescue happening with my own eyes.”
He told the Associated Press: “We suddenly felt a jolt, and it all happened so suddenly that we thought all of us are going to die.
“We cried, and tears were in our eyes, as we feared the cable car will go down,” he added.
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