Deoghar ropeway accident: 10 more rescued, several still trapped mid-air in cable cars for over 40 hours

Ten more tourists, who remained trapped mid-air in cable cars connecting the Trikut Hills in Jharkhand's Deoghar district, were rescued by the Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters after rescue operations resumed early on Tuesday (April 12, 2022) morning.

According to officials, some 50 people have been rescued so far from cable cars which were left dangling mid-air after a malfunction of the ropeway which saw trolley cars colliding on Sunday evening.

Three persons have died so far including one on Monday who is said to have fallen to his death during a botched helicopter rescue attempt, while 12 persons who were injured are being treated in hospitals.

Now, around five people are said to be still trapped and drones are being used to supply food and water to them.

Teams of IAF, Indian Army, NDRF, ITBP and local administration are currently continuing rescue operations.

On Monday, rescue operations had to be stopped after sunset as the ropeway runs through a picturesque yet densely forested area surrounded by hills, access to which is difficult except by air. The rescue operations from the ground is difficult as the trolleys are suspended at heights of up to 1500 feet.

Meanwhile, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has announced a high-level probe into the mishap and said that the administration was keeping a close vigil on rescue operation.

BJP vice-president and former Jharkhand chief minister Raghubar Das has accused the state government of being inactive, even after such a major accident, and claimed that 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 demanding a compensation of Rs 1 crore to the next of kin of the deceased.

The area which boasts of the famous Trikutachal Mahadeva Temple and the hermitage of Sage Dayananda, Trikut Hills has several peaks, with the highest Peak at a height of 2,470 feet from the sea level and around about 1,500 feet from the ground.

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