NEW DELHI, April 11: Two Air Force helicopters are engaged in a daring rescue operation of some 30 people still stranded and dangling in the air for the last 22 hours following a cable car accident on Trikut hills in Deoghar district in Jharkhand in which two persons were killed.
The exact cause of the accident was not clearly known but the initial reports received by the Deoghar deputy commissioner Manjunath Bhajantri said, “A pulley of one of the trollies got stuck resulting in the incident. 48 people were stranded… Water and refreshments have been provided to them through a parallel line.”
Chief Minister Hemant Soren has expressed grief at the accident. Speaking to journalists at the Ranchi airport, the CM said relief and rescue operations are being carried out on a war-footing. NDRF and other rescue personnel are at work, along with other experts. The government was monitoring the rescue operations, he added.
At least two people were killed and several injured in the cable-car collision. About 22 people were rescued and at least 24 more were still waiting to be rescued a day later. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) assistant commandant Vinay Kumar Singh, who is at the spot, said, “Twenty people have been rescued (till around 4 pm on Monday). Twenty-six people are still stuck in seven trolleys.” The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) was also assisting in the operation.
Bhajantri said: “Personnel of Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Indian Army, Indian Air Force and NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) reached the spot in the morning for rescue work. One person died in the incident and one who sustained serious injuries is being treated. We are doing continuous announcements so that the people stranded won’t panic.”
Singh said water and food are being provided to the trapped people with the help of drones. The incident appears to have been caused by a technical snag, an official said, adding, that the exact cause is yet to be ascertained. The ropeway manager and other employees, staffed by private company, fled the spot after the trolleys suddenly got stuck. Two people who had jumped were seriously injured, it said.
Both the DC and Superintendent of Police Subhash Chandra Jat are monitoring the rescue operation from the spot. Bhajantri said local villagers are also helping in the rescue operation. “The situation is completely under control. Some people are still stuck in the cable cars in the ropeway, and they are being rescued. All tourists are being evacuated safely,” the DC said, while appealing to people to not spread rumours.
Jharkhand Tourism said the Trikut ropeway, close to the Baba Baidyanath Temple, is India’s highest vertical ropeway. The ropeway, situated around 20 km from Baba Baidyanath Temple, is around 766-metres-long, while the hill is 392-metres-high. There are 25 carriages in the ropeway with seating for four people in each.
(Manas Dasgupta)
