SIX schoolchildren and two men are trapped inside a chairlift dangling 900ft in the air over a deep valley in Pakistan.
Rescue efforts are underway to save the eight desperate people onboard after one of the cables snapped during their journey.
ViralPressSix schoolchildren are among the eight passengers trapped onboard[/caption]
ViralPressA helicopter was sent to try and pluck the passengers out of the cable car[/caption]
It has been left suspended in mid-air high above a river canyon in the Allai Tehsil area of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The group have currently been stuck inside the contraption for six hours, a spokesman for the disaster management authority said.
Pakistan’s caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar ordered a helicopter to be dispatched to the site to aid rescue efforts.
It was hoped that the six terrified children and two men could possibly be plucked out of the chairlift to safety.
Military choppers had reached the cable car, yet it is unclear if their high-stakes rescue attempt has been successful.
Incredible footage shows one helicopter trying to approach the drooping cable car as crowds watch from down below.
One eyewitness said the cable car began to shake violently as the aircraft grew closer, forcing authorities to consider other ideas.
Those who live nearby and are familiar with the area are said to be helping officials coordinate the move-like mission.
It was reported that nets are being spread out underneath the cable car – where jagged rocks and towering mountains sit – as a precaution.
According to local media, the passengers were trapped for more than four hours before the first helicopter arrived.
Their early morning ordeal began at 7am local time.
One of the men stuck inside, named Gulfraz, said during a phone call with TV channel Geo News: “For God’s sake, help us!”
The 20-year-old said two of the students onboard were slipping in and out of consciousness and they deserately needed water.
He told the news outlet that the children inside were between the ages of 10 and 15.
Rescuers are struggling to reach the cable car due to the sheer height they are stuck at.
“Mid-air, two wires of the cable car snapped leaving them stuck at a height of approximately 3,000 feet (914 metres),“ said local official Mufti Gulamullah.
It is privately run by a resident for transportation across a local river, as there are no roads or bridges to use.
The chairlift connects villages in the Battagram district and is used on a daily basis by local villagers to cross the water.
It significantly shortens the journey time to nearby schools, government offices and other businesses.
A local teacher said around 150 people make the perilous journey every day, according to Dawn.com.
He claimed the cable car had been installed around eight years ago and said it was checked every month.
Cable cars are a popular mode of transport in Pakistan’s mountainous regions, although they are often poorly maintained.
In 2017, ten people plunged to their death when a chairlift installed by locals in Murree broke and fell into a deep ravine.
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