Three stranded in chairlift over river rescued

• District admin seals chairlift after incident.
• Bus to be arranged for students using chairlift. 
• Rescue 1122 staff given cash awards and commendation certificates.

KURAGH: Three people were stranded in a chairlift after its cable snapped over the river between Kuragh and Gahlasht in Upper Chitral on Tuesday morning.

However, Rescue 1122 succeeded in bringing the three to safety within less than an hour. The height of the cable car was low but it was hanging over the river, an eyewitness told ChitralToday on phone.

Rescue 1122 staffers smoothly reached the persons, tied the cable car with a rope and pulled the stranded persons to safety on Kuragh side. 

Between Kuragh and Gahlasht in Upper Chitral. Good work by Rescue 1122 Upper Chitral. pic.twitter.com/nnoaR4S1cF

— Chitral Today (@ChitralToday) August 29, 2023

Rescue 1122 Upper Chitral said after being alerted about the incident, its disaster team reached the spot. The team approached the chairlift through a railing made up of a steel ring. After reaching the stranded chairlift, it said, the chairlift was tied with another rope and pulled towards the other end of the river in Kuragh side. The whole rescue operation took about 45 minutes, the emergency service said.

The three persons were coming to Booni from Gohkeer when they got stranded after a rope of the cable car snapped, it added.

It may be mentioned that a bridge over the river at the same place was damaged by flooding in the river in the year 2015, but it could not be reconstructed by the government, leaving people on sides of the river to use the chairlift.

In the wake of the Battagram incident a few days ago where six students and two others remained stranded in the air for about 15 hours, the government had ordered closing down of all chairlifts/cable cars without any plan to provide the local people the alternatives.  Local residents said chairlifts were used in a very few locations in Chitral to commune between remote village. 

One such chairlift was operation over the river between Chitral town near the Shahi mosque and Denin/Shadoke area which was closed.

After the incident today, the district administration of Upper Chitral swung into action and sealed the chairlift near Kuragh. In a statement, the DC office said a bus would be arranged for students using the chairlift to and from their schools on Kuragh side to commute while taking a long detour.