On Tuesday, eight individuals, including six school students and two teachers, were successfully rescued after they were left suspended hundreds of feet above the ground in Battagram. The incident occurred due to a cable car used to transport children to school breaking, prompting an intense and lengthy rescue operation.
The students’ ages ranged from 10 to 15 years old. Pakistani Prime Minister Anwaar ul Haq Kakar expressed relief and gratitude for the successful rescue in a tweet, acknowledging the collaborative efforts of the military, rescue departments, district administration, and local community.
An Army helicopter was dispatched to the rescue site in Battagram, located around 120 miles north of Islamabad. The National Disaster Management Authority of Pakistan, in coordination with the Pakistan Army, executed the rescue operation. The Special Services Group, also known as the Commandos, utilised a sling team to safely retrieve the eight individuals from a height of 600 feet, relocating them to a secure location.
After the rescue, some of the children shared their feelings of fear during the ordeal and expressed gratitude for their successful retrieval. Additionally, local experts from Shangla’s Besham were enlisted to assist in the operation.
The cable car, operated privately by locals, serves as a means of transportation across rivers in an area where no roads or bridges have been constructed. These cable cars play a crucial role in the transportation infrastructure of northern regions like Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan, where challenging terrain makes road construction difficult.
