One dead, 25 people rescued, operations on to rescue 23 more

Deoghar (Jharkhand), Apr 11 (PTI) Some 25 people were rescued while 23 people remain trapped mid-air in a row of cable cars on Monday, nearly 26 hours after a malfunction of a ropeway in Jharkhand's Deoghar district, which saw cable cars hitting each other, killing one person and injuring 12 others a day before.

The rescued passengers were airlifted with the help of two Air Force helicopters, Deoghar Deputy Commissioner Manjunath Bhajantri said. The ropeway which runs through a picturesque densely forested valley is surrounded by hills, making rescue difficult, except by air.

Sandip, who was stuck in a trolley for 19 hours, said, "I feel Baba Baidyanath gave me second life. I can't explain the harrowing experience in a hanging trolley overnight. It was frightening." The trolleys were hanging mid-air at a height of nearly 100 feet.

He said the power of the trolley suddenly went off and it stopped midway. "When I called on the helpline number around 4pm on Sunday, I was told that it stopped due to a technical snag, which is being rectified. I again called around 7 pm. They said the ropeway is not working and they would rescue us using choppers on Monday. We were four people in the trolley and were very scared." Added Devang Jaipal from West Bengal, "After offering prayer to Baba Baidyanath, I wanted to enjoy nature on this ropeway ride ... who knew that I would be hanging in a trolley for a whole night." "With no food and water, we had a sleepless night on Sunday. On Monday, we were given some food and water through drones. Thanks to the NDRF, Indian Airforce and Deoghar administration for saving our lives," he said.

Around 24 hours after the accident, drones were used to supply those remaining in the cars with food and water. Eleven of the stranded tourists were rescued last night.

The accident which occurred Sunday around 4 pm, resulted in one death late at night and 12 injured in the collision among cable cars , around 20 kilometres from the famous Baba Baidyanth temple of Deoghar town.

Expressing sorrow over the incident, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren said rescue and relief operations are being conducted on war-footing.

"The government is keeping a close watch on the situation," he said.

"People trapped during the ropeway journey on Trikut mountain under Mohanpur block are being rescued by the combined teams of Air Force, NDRF, Army and ITBP," Bhajantri said.

Two Air Force choppers have been pressed into service for rescue and relief operations.

Officials said that water and food are being provided to the trapped people with the help of drones.

Health Minister Banna Gupta said an enquiry will be conducted into the incident and action would be taken against those found guilty of negligence.

The injured people were rescued and hospitalised, Bhajantri said adding that one passenger succumbed to injuries in the accident that occurred due to a fault in the ropeway system.

Local BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, however, claimed three people were killed.

Bhajantri along with the district Superintendent of Police Deoghar Subhash Chandra Jat has been camping at the spot to monitor the rescue and relief operations. The ropeway was being run by a private company. Operators running it fled shortly after the accident.

The Trikut ropeway, according to the Jharkhand tourism department, is India's highest vertical ropeway. It is around 766-metre long.

Meanwhile, BJP vice-president and former Jharkhand chief minister Raghubar Das accused the state government of being inactive even after such a major accident while ministers hailing from the region did not visit the site.

"The government did not care about the lives of the people. The inability to make quick decisions resulted in passengers hanging in the air overnight," Das said.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah is keeping an eye on the entire incident, he claimed.

He demanded that the state government provide a compensation of Rs one crore to the next of kin of the deceased and government job besides treatment of the injured at government expense.

He also demanded a high-level inquiry into the incident.

Another cable car accident two-and-a-half years back in December 2019 in the ski-resort of Gulmarg, where the ropeway had snapped had seen a family of four and three tourist guides crashing to their death. Another ropeway accident in January of the same year in Jammu had resulted in the death of two workers while work on the new system was still underway.