'We Have Saved our Children, our Future,' Pakistan's Prime Minister Says

    Aug. 25, 2023
    The commandos, volunteers and a zipline operator are lauded as national heroes.

    dpa

    (TNS)

    Islamabad — Pakistan’s prime minister on Thursday honoured army commandos and volunteers involved in Tuesday's rescue of eight people from a dangling cable car. 

    The cable car carrying six students and two adults dangled on one sole cable for about 15 hours until all the passengers were rescued in a highly risky operation by elite commandos and local volunteers.

    The rescue operation included the use of army helicopters before local volunteers were called in to reach the trapped victims using ropes and bearings on the remaining steel wire.

    Sahib Khan, who led the zipline part of the operation, was now being hailed as hero across the country.

    Prime Minister Anwaar-ul- Haq Kakar hosted Khan, other volunteers and commandos who took part in the operation and honoured them with certificates of recognition.

    “It was an event worth celebrating. We have saved our children, our future. Those were the moment of national anxiety. It was a synchronized effort,” Kakar said at the ceremony.

    On Wednesday, police arrested the owner and operator of the cable car, officials said.

    Villages in northern Pakistan often travel using makeshift chairlifts and cable cars to cross rivers and cut the distances in hilly areas.

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