It was sigh of relief for whole nation. Pakistani rescuers pulled seven children and one man to safety after their Chairlift in Battagram became stranded high over deep ravine. The ordeal lasted more than 15 hours, keep while world on its knees.
Heli and ground based Rescue was a unique and high-risk operation. Cable car snagged early in the morning, leaving it hanging precariously at an angle all day. Prime Minister of Pakistan said in a tweet that
“Great team work by the military, rescue departments, district administration as well as the local people.”
A military helicopter rescue operation was called off as night fell after two children had been pulled to safety. Flood lights were installed and a ground-based rescue continued. First two children were rescued by sling operation till heli operation was called off due to darkness. Meanwhile resources were pooled up for ground operation. Remaining six stranded in chairlift were rescued one by one by Special Service group troops.
A security source said that cable crossing experts had been trying to rescue the children one by one by transferring them on to a small platform along the cable.
Before the helicopter rescue was called off, TV footage showed one child being lifted off the cable car in a harness, swinging side to side, before being lowered to the ground.
The rescue effort transfixed the country, with Pakistanis crowded around television sets, as media showed footage of an emergency worker dangling from a helicopter cable close to the small cabin, with those onboard cramped together.
All stranded persons were safely evacuated and moved to a safe place… Civil administration and locals also actively came forward to participate in this operation.”
A video shared by a rescue agency official showed more than a dozen rescuers and locals lined up near the edge of the dark ravine, pulling on a cable until a boy attached to it by a harness reached the hillside safely to cries of “God is great”.