BATTAGRAM: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) police on Wednesday arrested the owner and operator of a Battagram chairlift which became stranded high over a remote ravine on Tuesday morning.
Eight people, including schoolchildren who got trapped in a disabled cable car dangling high above a valley in Pakistan’s Battagram, returned safely to the ground Tuesday after military commandos staged a daring and delicate rescue using helicopters and a makeshift chairlift.
Pakistan Army Aviation officers, Special Service Group (SSG) commandos and locals successfully pulled out all school students and teacher trapped in the chairlift in Battagram.
Taking action, the KP police arrested owner and operator of the cable car being used for transportation across rivers.
The arrest came after a case was registered against them in Shamlai Police Station.
Meanwhile, police have sealed the control room of cable car.
Battagram incident
The daylong ordeal began when six children got into the gondola for a trip to school. Two adults were with them. But then a cable snapped, bringing the car to a halt and trapping the group in midair. They were helpless, suspended hundreds of meters (feet) above a remote, mountainous landscape.
Known by locals as “Dolly”, the cable car links the village of Jangri to Batangi, where the school is located.
After rescuing two children, the air rescue operation was suspended due to windy weather and darkness. The children were rescued after the fourth attempt to airlift them. Pakistan Army also brought a local cable crossing expert from the Northern areas. The cable crossing expert will also assist the rescuers.
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