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Saturday September 07, 2024

Father loses life in desperate attempt to save son stuck in Shangla chairlift

Man swallowed by Indus River after falling into raging waters while trying to rescue stranded son in chairlift

By Mehboob Ali
July 23, 2024
Representation image of chairlift over the mountain. — Freepik
Representation image of chairlift over the mountain. — Freepik

In a sorrowful incident that took place near Shangla on Tuesday, a man died after falling into the Indus River while trying to save his son’s life who was stuck in a chairlift.

A boy reportedly got stuck in a chairlift in Shangla — a tourist attraction for its scenic high mountains full of forests in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Malakand Division. 

In a desperate move, the father tried to reach the stranded chairlift by using a rope, rescue sources told Geo News.

However, the move brought an untoward outcome as he fell into the Indus River flowing underneath after the rope broke and was swallowed by the raging waters.

Fortunately, the boy was rescued by locals after much effort.

The sources said that a search and rescue operation was also commenced following the incident. However, rescue workers have not recovered the father’s body so far.

The number of chairlift and cable car accidents is high in Pakistan due to a lack of administrative and governmental checks on their operations in several mountainous areas, including the KP province.

These modes of commutations have resulted in several casualties while their unregulated operations also create difficulties for rescue authorities to save precious lives of locals and tourists due to lack of adequate arrangements.