Update: Five children rescued after dangling 1,000 feet in the air

Written by ABC Audio ALL RIGHTS RESERVED on August 22, 2023

(LONDON) — Two adults and six children were left dangling 900 feet above the ground in Pakistan when a cable car used to get kids to school broke, sparking a dramatic hourslong rescue operation.

Five of the children were saved as of late Tuesday, officials confirmed.

A helicopter was dispatched to the site of the rescue operation in Battagram, approximately 120 miles north of the country’s capital city of Islamabad. Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority said it was working with the Pakistan Army to rescue the remaining passengers.

The broken down cable car is reportedly used daily to take students to school in the remote region of Pakistan.

The caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar ul Haq Kakar — who has only been in office for eight days — issued a statement on social media regarding the situation unfolding in the north of the country.

“The chairlift accident in Battagram, KP is really alarming. I have directed the NDMA, PDMA and district authorities to urgently ensure safe rescue and evacuation of the 8 people stuck in the chairlift,” he said. “I have also directed the authorities to conduct safety inspections of all such private chairlifts and ensure that they are safe to operate and use.”