LAHORE
The tragic chairlift accidents are common in the hilly regions of the Pakistan, where chairlifts are often used to cross rivers, a report released by a private television channel said Thursday.
On June 24, 2023, a mother and daughter drowned in the river after the cable of a temporary chairlift passing over the Swat River broke in Aryai Pashmal region. On June 29, 2019, the Patriata chairlift broke down, leaving 90 people trapped in the air for 10 hours. Each cable car carried eight to nine people.
District Administration, Rescue 1122, Civil Defense and Pakistan Army were called for help and after a successful operation all persons were rescued safely. No one was injured in the operation. The 3.25 km long chairlift was installed at a height of about 7,500 feet above sea level and at a distance of about 15 km from Murree Town, starting from Galhara Gali to Patriata Top.
During the first phase of this operation, 27 people were rescued by three wires which were easily accessible. It was very difficult to rescue the people in the other cable cars as they were high in the mountainous area. So, the authorities decided to readjust the rail rope to set the cable cars in motion after which the team was able to rescue the people.
On July 15, 2017, five people drowned in the Swat River after a chairlift broke. The incident took place in Kalam village in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where seven people were riding a chairlift when its cable snapped midway over a river. The chairlift was operated by local people and was in use for many years. In this accident, five people drowned in the river while two were rescued alive.
On June 29, 2017, around 11 people lost their lives when a chairlift cable fell in Murree. At least 11 people, including nine men, a woman and a child, were killed, while two others were seriously injured in the accident when a cable of a chairlift snapped in a hill station of Murree’s famous hill station. The lift was reportedly carrying 13 people when its cable snapped. This chairlift was actually an improvised one installed between two mountains used by local villagers to cross the river.
According to officials, a cable supporting the cable car malfunctioned, which led to the accident. On May 12, 2017, four people drowned in the Indus River after the chairlift cable broke in the Samar Nala area of Diamar district. This chairlift used to connect Tangir area of Diamer district with other areas.
In Tangir area of Gilgit-Baltistan, four people were returning to their homes after performing Friday prayers when the chairlift broke down halfway. On August 19, 2015, Pakistan’s largest Patriata chairlift and cable car service remained inoperative for over two hours, leaving dozens of tourists suspended hundreds of meters in the air.
The incident took place when tourists were traveling by chairlift and cable car service when the service was stopped due to an electrical fault. Even a day before this accident, the chairlift and cable service remained inactive for more than an hour due to a fault in the generator. Due to the absence of backup power supply system, the administration was unable to rescue the stranded tourists for more than two hours.
On December 18, 2013, a person died when the rope of a locally made chairlift broke on the Berang River in Meimula area of Berang Tehsil of Bajaur Agency. According to local people, a local resident was coming from Dargai to his native village Memula by chairlift when suddenly the chairlift broke and fell into the river.
On July 4, 2012, a woman was seriously injured in a chairlift accident that took place in the tourist resort of Ayubia. In this accident, the rope attached to the chairlift suddenly broke, causing the woman and her five-year-old son to fall into a deep ditch. Miraculously, the five-year-old child survived the accident.
