New Delhi: The operation to rescue people trapped from mid-air ropeway cable cars in Jharkhand’s Deoghar district ended Tuesday after 40 arduous hours. The risky exercise involved two helicopters and columns of onground servicemen.
Nearly 50 people were retrieved in the last two days, while three died in the process. One person fell from a helicopter last evening during a rescue attempt. Horrific videos showed him dangling from a rope before losing grip and plunging into the mountain side. The others died of injuries.
Jharkhand’s Trikut Pahar ropeway runs through a densely forested area ensconsed in hills and is India’s highest vertical carriageway. Close to Baba Baidyanath Temple, the ropeway has 25 cars seating four each.
Hundreds used the ropeway Sunday to reach the temple on Ram Navami. The accident happened in the evening when cabin cars collided midway.
Teams of the Indian Air Force, the Army, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and the National Disaster Response Force, Deoghar’s Deputy Commissioner Manjunath Bhajantri said.
Reports said water and food reached those trapped with the help of drones.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has ordered a high-level inquiry into the accident, as has the Jharkhand high Court.
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