A child has described the “horrific” moment the cable car line snapped in Pakistan, leaving eight people dangling over a 274m (900ft) river canyon for more than 15 hours.
All eight – seven youngsters, aged between 11 and 15, and their teacher – became trapped during the incident which took place as they were on their way to school.
Two of the children were rescued in the daytime by army commandos using helicopters, before the rest were also saved one by one during an even riskier night-time operation.
Imran Ahmed, one of the children trapped for hours, said: “When the cable car [was] stuck in between it was [a] very horrific moment.
“Everyone was so scared. We were thinking that our time has come, we were think[ing] either we survived or not.
“I never ever again [want to] sit in a cable car. I will prefer to go by foot. We really need roads for connectivity.”
Other schoolchildren who were rescued from the broken cable car said they also repeatedly feared death was imminent during the 16-hour ordeal.
Osama Sharif, one of those rescued, said: “I had heard stories about miracles, but I saw a miraculous rescue happening with my own eyes.”
The 15-year-old had been heading to school to receive the results of his final exams, when the cable snapped.
Children are rescued from the stricken cable car. Pic: Rescue 1122 Hazara
“We suddenly felt a jolt, and it all happened so suddenly that we thought all of us are going to die,” he said in a telephone interview.
Some of those on board the cable car started making calls on their mobile phones, while worried parents tried to reassure the children.
“They were telling us ‘Don’t worry, help is coming’,” said Osama.
