ISLAMABAD: Six children were among eight people trapped inside a cable car dangling over a deep Pakistan valley on Tuesday, officials said.
The children were using the chairlift to cross the valley to get to school when a cable broke at a height of up to 1,200 feet (about 365 metres) midway through its journey in a remote mountainous region.
"The chairlift is suspended by a single rope. Within the chairlift, there are a minimum of eight occupants primarily consisting of schoolchildren," Abdul Basit Khan, a senior official for the provincial rescue agency, told AFP.
The National Disaster Management Agency said in a statement six children and two adults were on board at a height of at least 900 feet, and that the Pakistan Army had been asked to carry out a helicopter rescue mission.
Syed Hammad Haider, a senior Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provincial official, said the cable car was hanging about 1,000 to 1,200 feet above the ground.
"We have requested the KP government to provide a helicopter because the relief activity is not possible without the help of a helicopter," he said.
Six children among 8 trapped as cable car dangles over deep Pakistan valley
https://arab.news/4e8mv
Six children among 8 trapped as cable car dangles over deep Pakistan valley
- Children were using the chairlift to cross the valley to get to school
- Pakistan Army has been asked to carry out helicopter rescue mission
Pakistani party announces countrywide protests on Friday against US-Israel strikes on Iran
- Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) party chief urges Pakistan to withdraw from Trump’s Board of Peace body
- Calls for transparent probe into deaths of 10 protesters who stormed US consulate in Karachi
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani religious party Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) announced it would hold countrywide protests against US and Israel’s aggression against Iran, calling on Islamabad to withdraw from US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace body.
Tensions have surged in the Middle East ever since Saturday, when US and Israel launched surprise airstrikes against Iran after months of negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program.
Iran confirmed on Sunday its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been killed in the strikes, retaliating with drone and missile attacks against US military installations in the Gulf.
“The Jamaat-e-Islami chief expressed solidarity with the Iranian government and people and announced nationwide protests on Friday against what he described as US and Israeli aggression,” the JI said in a statement on Wednesday.
It quoted party chief Naeem ur Rehman as saying that the Board of Peace formed under the leadership of US President Donald Trump was a “sham.”
“He demanded that the Government of Pakistan immediately withdraw from the so-called Gaza Peace Board and urged both the government and opposition to openly condemn the US and Israeli attacks on Iran,” the JI added.
Rehman said it was necessary to defeat the “nefarious” plans of the US and Israel, warning that Israel could target Pakistan next.
The JI chief reiterated his demand for a transparent investigation into the killing of 10 protesters who had stormed the US consulate in Karachi on Sunday to protest Khamenei’s killing.
A Reuters report cited two American officials as saying that US Marines had fired at the demonstrators. However, the US officials said it was unclear whether rounds fired by Marines struck or killed anyone.
“The Jamaat-e-Islami chief appealed to protesters to remain peaceful and urged people from all walks of life to participate fully in Friday’s demonstrations,” the JI said.
The JI has regularly held large public rallies in Pakistan’s Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad cities against Israel for its military operations in Gaza.
