Pakistan cable car accident | 'Thought it was my last day': Survivor recalls ordeal

All the eight people trapped mid-air in a cable car in Pakistan were successfully rescued, but recalling the ordeal, one of the survivors said he thought it was his last day and it was over for him. Speaking to BBC on Wednesday (August 23), Attaullah Shah said, "When the chairlift was halfway there, its rope broke. It was dangling and I was terrified." Fahim Udin Shah, the uncle of one of the rescued children, said it was like doomsday for the area, adding, everyone rushed out of their houses to see the operation.

"A kid from almost every household was here," he added. Those stranded on the cable car included seven school students (aged between 10-16 years) and one man. The high-risk operation in the north of Pakistan was completed on Tuesday night after a car was left hanging precariously at an angle all day.

There were fears thatthe remaining cable could give way any time, and cries of 'God is Great' arose from people gathered around to see the children brought down on harnesses by soldiers on a zip line.

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According to a report by the news agency Reuters, a military helicopter rescue operation was called off on Tuesday as night fell after two children had been pulled to safety. Floodlights were installed and a ground-based rescue continued.

"All the kids have been successfully and safely rescued," caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The seven students had been stuck in the cable car since 7 am (2 GMT) when they were travelling to school in a remote mountainous area in Battagram. The journey by cable car usually takes just a matter of minutes, whereas travelling on the rough mountain roads and tracks takes hours.

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