Pakistan cable car – live: 15-year-old survivor says dramatic rescue gives him ‘a second life’

Rescuers pulled those trapped along zipwire by hand after military helicopters stood down for night

Pakistan cable car video

A student who was stuck in a cable car suspended over a ravine in northwest Pakistan has spoken out about the 15-hour ordeal.

“I thought it was my last day and I will be no more,” Attaullah Shah was quoted as saying by AFP.

The 15-year-old, one of seven students travelling on the chairlift when one of its cables snapped, expressed gratitude for having survived the incident. “God has granted me a second life,” he said.

The families of the students rescued from the broken-down cable car erupted with joy as the last child was freed late last night, an official said.

Night fell as the first of the students was rescued and it was several more hours until the cable car was finally cleared of passengers.

“People kept praying until the last person was rescued,” emergency official Waqar Ahmad told AFP. “Once everyone had been rescued, the families started crying with joy and hugging each other.”

Pakistan’s government confirmed the rescue mission was complete some 15 hours after the car first got stuck, and declared inspections of cable cars will be carried out across the country.

Key Points

• ‘I saw a miraculous rescue happening with my own eyes’
• Full report: Eight people saved in 16-hour rescue operation
• In Pictures: How the 15-hour-long ‘unique’ rescue unfolded in Pakistan’s Battagram
• Relief washes over the community as last of Pakistan students are rescued: ‘Entire valley is now filled with joy’
• Ground rescue operation replaced helicopters as night fell
• One child in cable car fainted, officials said

[23 August 2023 14:30 · Maroosha Muzaffar]

ICYMI: Students trapped in cable car incident receive exam results

Among the passengers trapped in the suspended cable car in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Battagram district, three of the children who were part of the group found out they had successfully cleared their Class 9 examinations after their rescue, local media said.

With the results of the exams – for students aged roughly 15 – announced on Tuesday, three of the students received the news that they had graduated to Class 10.

Local media reports identified them as Attaullah, Niaz Mohammad and Osama Sharif. The three are students at Government High School Batangi Pashto Alai, Geo TV reported.