ISLAMABAD: At least three persons went missing after a cable car fell into the Indus River in the northwestern Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, rescue officials said on Friday, amid a search for potential survivors.
The incident took place in the Upper Kohistan district of the province, when the three men aged between 18 and 36 years were using the cable car to cross the river, according to a Rescue 1122 spokesperson.
Rescue 1122 divers, disaster management and medical teams reached shortly after the control room was informed about the incident.
“Despite a rapid flow of water, rescue teams are engaged in search operations at three different locations,” the Rescue 1122 spokesperson said in a statement.
A team of specialized divers had also been called in from Bisham area to participate in the operation, while heavy machinery was being used to pull the cable car out of the river.
Makeshift cable cars are widely used in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, northern Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan regions. Local communities build them out of scrap metal because it’s cheaper and there is no other alternative considering the terrain of the area which makes road travel more costly.
In August last year, rescuers had pulled out seven children and a man to safety after their cable car was stranded high over a remote ravine in KP’s Battagram district, ending an ordeal lasting more than 15 hours. The high-risk operation was successfully completed in the dark of night after the cable car snagged early in the morning, leaving it hanging precariously at an angle.
The rescue effort had transfixed the country, with Pakistanis crowded around television sets, as local media showed footage of an emergency worker dangling from a helicopter cable close to the small cabin, with those onboard cramped together.
Three missing after cable car falls into Indus River in northwestern Pakistan
https://arab.news/m9qet
Three missing after cable car falls into Indus River in northwestern Pakistan
- Search operation comprising professional divers underway to recover any survivors, rescue official says
- Communities in northern Pakistan build cable cars out of scrap metal as alternate to costly road travel
Two Pakistani men indicted in $10 million Medicare fraud scheme in Chicago
- Prosecutors say defendants billed Medicare and private insurers for nonexistent services
- Authorities say millions of dollars in proceeds were laundered and transferred to Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Two Pakistani nationals have been indicted in Chicago for allegedly participating in a $10 million health care fraud scheme that targeted Medicare and private insurers, the US Justice Department said on Thursday.
A federal grand jury charged Burhan Mirza, 31, who resided in Pakistan, and Kashif Iqbal, 48, who lived in Texas, with submitting fraudulent claims for medical services and equipment that were never provided, according to an indictment filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Medicare is the US federal health insurance program primarily serving Americans aged 65 and older, as well as certain younger people with disabilities.
“Rooting out fraud is a priority for this Justice Department, and these defendants allegedly billed millions of dollars from Medicare and laundered the proceeds to Pakistan,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement.
“These alleged criminals stole from a program designed to provide health care benefits to American seniors and the disabled, not line the pockets of foreign fraudsters,” he added. “We will not tolerate these schemes that divert taxpayer dollars to criminals.”
Prosecutors said that in 2023 and 2024, the defendants and their alleged co-conspirators used nominee-owned laboratories and durable medical equipment providers to bill Medicare and private health benefit programs for nonexistent services.
According to the indictment, Mirza obtained identifying information of individuals, providers and insurers without their knowledge and used it to support fraudulent claims submitted on behalf of shell companies. Iqbal was allegedly linked to several durable medical equipment providers that filed false claims and is accused of laundering proceeds and coordinating transfers of funds to Pakistan.
Mirza faces 12 counts of health care fraud and five counts of money laundering. Iqbal is charged with 12 counts of health care fraud, six counts of money laundering and one count of making a false statement to US law enforcement. Arraignments have not yet been scheduled.
Three additional defendants, including an Indian, previously charged in the investigation, have pleaded guilty to federal health care fraud charges and are awaiting sentencing.
An indictment contains allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
