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Watch: Dramatic moment last 2 children were rescued after hours of being trapped in dangling cable car in Pakistan

The military, which was involved in the rescue, said the operation was 'very difficult', adding that the team showed 'unparalleled skill and efficiency'

Published: Wed 23 Aug 2023, 12:05 PM

Updated: Wed 23 Aug 2023, 12:05 PM

Youngsters, who were trapped in a broken cable car, receive first aid following their rescue in Pashto village late Tuesday, August 22. — AP

Youngsters, who were trapped in a broken cable car, receive first aid following their rescue in Pashto village late Tuesday, August 22. — AP

A video has captured the moment when the last two children were brought to safety after being stranded in a cable car dangling a hundred metres above a ravine in Pakistan. Seven children and a teacher were trapped in the cable car for over 12 hours, triggering a desperate rescue operation that ended on Tuesday evening.

In the video, shared widely on the Internet, rescuers are seen ziplining with the two children. People are also seen gathered at the edge of the ravine, pulling the cable until the kids reached the hillside. “Allahu Akbar (God is great),” the crowd can be heard chanting as the children get rescued.


The incident took place on Tuesday morning when the children, along with a teacher, were travelling to school in a remote mountainous area in Battagram, about 200km north of Islamabad, officials said.

They boarded a cable car to cross the ravine but, suddenly, one of the cables snapped, leaving them stranded around 900 feet above the ground, Shariq Riaz Khattak, a rescue official at the site, told Reuters.


Soon, a desperate operation to rescue them began with a helicopter. However, Pakistani authorities had to bring the chopper back to the ground as night fell — this was when the responders turned to using zip lines, a CNN report said.

According to The New York Times, two people were rescued with the help of the helicopter while zip lines were used to save the six others. The Pakistani military, which was involved in the rescue, said the operation was “very difficult”, adding that the team showed “unparalleled skill and efficiency”.

Pakistan’s caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said confirmed on Tuesday that all the kids had been rescued.

The cable car has been a lifeline to the village of Pashto, which is located deep in the mountains of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. It cuts short the journey for school students and sick members of the area who are required to visit the hospital, the NYT report added.

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