Rain forecast puts Battagram chairlift rescue under a cloud
Pakistan
Eight people are trapped in the cable car since morning
KARACHI (Dunya News) – The Meteorological Office has predicted rain in Battagram where an operation is under way for several hours to rescue eight people trapped in a cable car dangling around 900 feet above a ravine after a line snapped early Tuesday.
At the time of filing the story, the weather was mostly cloudy in Allai tehsil of Battagram.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), in a weather update, said there were thirty per cent chances of rain in the next three hours in the area and they would intensify to 60pc by 10pm tonight (Tuesday).
It also predicted heavy rain during the night hours in the city, adding that intermittent rain is likely to continue till Friday.
Six schoolchildren and two teachers have been stranded since 7am when they were using the chairlift to get to the school in a mountainous area about 200 kilometres (125 miles) north of Islamabad.
Officials said the rescue mission was complicated by gusty winds in the area and the helicopters' rotor blades risked destabilising the cable car.
The military helicopters hovered near the stranded cable car, they added.
Furthermore, special services troops, trained in sling operations, are also involved in this "extremely dangerous and risky operation".
Pakistan's caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar expressed concern in a post on messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
"...I have also directed the authorities to conduct safety inspections of all such private chairlifts and ensure that they are safe to operate and use," he said in a post.
