PESHAWAR: Three of the children from among the passengers stuck in the dangling cable car in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Battagram district have passed their class 9 exams.
According to details, Attaullah son of Kifayatullah obtained 442 marks, Niaz Mohammad s/o Umar Zaib secured 412 and Usama s/o Muhammad Sharif took 391 numbers, and they were promoted to class 10 as the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Abbottabad announced the results earlier today.
The trio are the students of Government High School Batangi Pashto Alai.
Rescue mission ends successfully
The Pakistan Army’s Special Services Group (SSG) successfully rescued all eight passengers — seven schoolchildren and a local person — who were dangling mid-air after the rope of a cable car broke in Allai Tehsil in KP.
Taking to X, previously known as Twitter, caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar announced: “Relieved to know that Alhamdolillah all the kids have been successfully and safely rescued. Great teamwork by the military, rescue departments, district administration as well as the local people.”
Earlier today, the open cable car became stranded halfway across a ravine and was hanging by a single cable after the other snapped, leaving eight people stuck inside for more than 15 hours.
Before sunset, two of the children were rescued with the help of an army helicopter but the operation via copter was suspended due to darkness and the windy weather.
The army later started a ground operation — led by SSG’s general officer commanding (GOC) — to retrieve the remaining five people on the cable car with alternative means.
Another cable car — smaller in size — was hung on the same cable to retrieve the people and deliver food and water to them. The Pakistan Army also brought in a local cable crossings expert for help.
Earlier in the morning, the open cable car became stranded halfway across a ravine and was hanging by a single cable after the other snapped, Shariq Riaz Khattak a rescue official at the site told Reuters.
Following the incident, helicopters of the Pakistan Army Aviation and the Pakistan Air Force participated in the rescue operation along with the SSG troops.
The rescue mission was complicated due to gusty winds in the area and the fact the helicopter’s rotor blades risk further destabilising the lift, Khattak said.
Initial report of incident
An initial report of the incident says that seven schoolchildren and a local person were travelling in the cable car to go to the Batangi Government High School.
According to the report, one cable of the gondola broke at around 7:45am which led to the cable car being stranded mid-air.
The cable car hands at a height of 6,000 feet. Abrar, Irfan, Usama, Rizwan Ullah, Ataullah, Niaz Muhammad, Sher Nawaz and Gul Faraz are stuck inside the lift.
The report said that Battagram’s deputy commissioner contacted Hazara’s commissioner after he received report about the incident. The DC asked for the arrangement of a helicopter. Moreover, the SSG team based in Kaghan Valley was also contacted after which the helicopter reached the location at 11:45am. Meanwhile, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) helicopter reached the site at 2pm.
District administration, police, and two rescue teams are currently present at the location, the report said, adding that an emergency has been imposed at the nearby health centres and the District Headquarter Hospital (DHQ) Battagram has also been put on high alert.
Punjab’s DG Rescue Dr Rizwan Naseer said that a height rescue team is also on standby and is ready for help.
The deaths of four Pakistanis in a boat capsizing event close to the southern Greek island of Goudos have been verified by the Foreign Office.
The incident happened on Sunday and at least five illegal immigrants drowned as a result. According to Greek Coast Guards, 39 people were rescued after the wooden boat overturned, but 40 more are still unaccounted for.
According to a Foreign Office spokeswoman, the four Pakistani nationals were among those killed in the catastrophe. In order to help the remaining Pakistanis and repatriate the corpses of the deceased, the Pakistani Embassy in Athens has been in close communication with Greek authorities, she said.
Additional information was given by Aamir Aftab Qureshi, Pakistan’s ambassador to Greece, during a press conference. According to him, there were 80 Pakistanis on board the doomed boat, and efforts are still being made to find the people who are still missing.
He added that the overcrowding on the boat was a factor in the capsizing. There are worries over the safety of the missing people because a sizable portion of them are children. He stated that five boats carrying Pakistani nationals were traveling illegally from Libya.
The public was also informed by Ambassador Qureshi that the government will pay for the return flight of the accident victims’ bodies.
Approximately 450 Pakistanis, including 250 Zaireen, have successfully crossed into Lebanon from Syria, according to the spokesperson for the Foreign Office, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch.
During her weekly briefing at the foreign office in Islamabad, she stated that Pakistan is pleased with the resolution passed by the United Nations General Assembly on the Gaza Strip, which calls for an immediate ceasefire.
In addition, she expressed her satisfaction with the elimination of limits placed on UNRWA’s ability to carry out relief activities in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
It was stated by her that Pakistan is demanding an immediate cessation of hostilities in Palestine, an end to the genocide that is taking place in Gaza, the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, unrestricted access to humanitarian aid for those who are in urgent need, full support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and its mandated humanitarian activities, and medical assistance for those who are in urgent need.
Moreover, she stated that Pakistan emphasises the need for the international community to hold Israel accountable for the war crimes and crimes against humanity that it has committed in occupied lands.
The Israeli aggression against Syria, the illegitimate acquisition of Syrian territory, and the massive devastation of Syrian infrastructure as well as civilian and military sites are all topics that Pakistan is extremely worried about, according to the spokesperson for Pakistan.
According to her, this attack on Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity is a serious violation of international law to the highest degree. By expressing our support for Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, we are also expressing our opposition to the Israeli government’s attempt to acquire territory through coercion.
The resolution 497 of the United Nations Security Council, which declares the annexation of the Golan Heights by Israel to be null and illegal and to have no international legal impact, was reaffirmed by her organisation.