5 children rescued, 8 trapped in Pak cable car as rescue ops on: Top updates

Pakistan Cable Car Rescue: Pakistan's caretaker prime minister Anwaar ul Haq Kakar ordered rescuers to attend to the "alarming" incident.

A rescue operation is under way in Pakistan for eight people - including six children - who were trapped in a cable car dangling over a valley. Five children have been rescued so far, Associated Press reported. The incident happened after the cable snapped, leaving the car hanging 274m (900 ft) above ground. Officials said that the cable is currently “suspended by a single rope”. The incident happened at about 07:00 local time (02:00 GMT) as the children were crossing the valley on their way to school in a mountainous part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province

Pakistan Cable Car Rescue: An army soldier slings down from helicopter during the rescue mission.(AFP)

Pakistan's caretaker prime minister Anwaar ul Haq Kakar ordered rescuers to attend to the "alarming" incident saying that he has directed the authorities "to urgently ensure safe rescue and evacuation of the eight people stuck in the chairlift".

He also ordered "safety inspections of all such private chairlifts and ensure that they are safe to operate and use."

This comes as military helicopters reached the scene as the army began the rescue operation in Battagram, with two helicopters at the scene. Videos shared widely on social media showed a "commando" descending from a helicopter to towards the cable car below. The commando had initially descended to the cable car to give the people inside instructions, but was forced to retreat due to strong winds in the region, GeoNews reported.