11 killed in chairlift accident near Murree
Chairlift cable broke between Charra Pani and Banwari killing 11, including woman and child
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News/AFP) - 11 people were killed and two others injured when a chairlift cable broke, sending riders plunging into a ravine in a mountain hamlet near capital Islamabad Thursday, officials said.
The accident occurred some 30 kilometres (18 miles) north of Islamabad in the Charra Pani village in the tourist hill resort of Murree. Cable broke while the chair doli was in midair above the drain between Charra Pani and Banwari. Two persons were injured in the accident. The rescue operations were delayed, however, local residents helped the victims and transferred their bodies,
"The villagers use a chairlift to cross the river and it broke, coming off the cable, which killed ten people," local rescue official Muhammad Farooq told AFP. Relatives of those killed protested on the highway with bodies of deceased which caused a traffic jam at the notable hill station.
Traffic jam caused after the chairlift accident near Murree
"Two others were wounded," he said. The local DCO also confirmed the accident saying, "The chairlift was installed in Banwari and precious lives were lost in the accident."
The local police station confirmed the incident. Those died include a woman and child. One of the eye witnesses told chairlift owners overcrowd the transporting vehicle which causes such problems. He said that the chairlift had a maxiumum capacity of eight travelers while the owners stuffed it with fourteen people.
Chairlift accidents are common in mountainous areas of Pakistan, where the lifts are often used to cross rivers.
Four people drowned when a chairlift broke in Diamer district of Gilgit-Baltistan in northern Pakistan last month.
