Battagram chairlift owner, operator arrested

By Muhammad JuniadPublished On 23 Aug 2023

Eight people, including schoolchildren who got trapped in a disabled cable car dangling high above a valley in Pakistan’s Battagram, returned safely to the ground Tuesday after military commandos staged a daring and delicate rescue using helicopters and a makeshift chairlift.

Taking action, the KP police arrested owner and operator of the cable car being used for transportation across rivers.

The arrest came after a case was registered against them in Shamlai Police Station.

Meanwhile, police have sealed the control room of cable car.

Battagram incident

The daylong ordeal began when six children got into the gondola for a trip to school. Two adults were with them. But then a cable snapped, bringing the car to a halt and trapping the group in midair. They were helpless, suspended hundreds of meters (feet) above a remote, mountainous landscape.

Known by locals as “Dolly”, the cable car links the village of Jangri to Batangi, where the school is located.