Deoghar (Jharkhand)/New Delhi: Attempts to rescue passengers trapped in cable cars on a ropeway for over 46 hours in Jharkhand’s Deoghar district ended Tuesday afternoon with a tragedy. A 60-year-old woman fell to her death while she was being winched up by a helicopter, raising the death toll to three, officials informed.
All other 60 tourists, stranded since Sunday 4.00pm, after a ropeway malfunction resulted in trolleys colliding at Trikut hills, were safely evacuated with the help of Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters since Monday. Fourteen of the last remaining 15 tourists, who were trapped mid-air for more than 40 hours, were rescued during the day.
“Of the remaining 15 people trapped in cable cars overnight, 14 were rescued. However, a woman fell off the chopper during the course of the operation,” Additional Director General of Police RK Mallick informed.
Deoghar Civil Surgeon CK Shahi said the woman, identified as Shobha Devi, was declared dead on being taken to a hospital. It was unclear whether the harness wrapped around her or the rope which was being used to pull her snapped, resulting in her fall and eventual death.
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Mallick said those rescued were sent to hospitals, where they will be examined. A total of 12 people were injured during the rescue operations and are currently undergoing treatment at various hospitals.
The rescue operation was conducted jointly by the IAF, Army, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the district administration. Food and water were supplied to the stranded people using drones.
Chief Minister Hemant Soren assured he will order a high-level probe in the incident. “I have directed all senior officials to find out the reasons behind the accident and who are accountable for this. A high-level probe will be conducted in the matter and action will be taken accordingly. The state government is keeping a close watch on the situation,” Soren said.
Governor Ramesh Bais expressed deepest condolences to the families of the deceased and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured people. “The accident on the ropeway built on Trikut hills of Deoghar, a world-famous religious place, is very sad and painful. I express my deepest condolences to the families of the deceased and pray to Baba Baidyanath for the speedy recovery of the injured,” Bais said.
The area which boasts of the famous Trikutachal Mahadeva Temple and the hermitage of Sage Dayananda, Trikut hills has several peaks, with the highest at 2,470 feet above the sea level. The Trikut ropeway, according to the Jharkhand tourism department, is India’s highest vertical ropeway. It is around 766-metre long.
In a statement, the IAF said an Mi-17V5, one Mi-17, one Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) and one Cheetah helicopter flew more than 26 hours during the evacuation operation.
The rescue contingent included five Garud commandos of the IAF. They had the daunting task of climbing onto the stranded trolleys, while being attached to the helicopter’s winch cable, accessing it from outside, strapping up each survivor individually and getting them winched up and into the helicopter hovering overhead, the IAF said. Smaller children were carried up to the helicopter by the Garud commandos themselves, it added.
