Pakistani special forces were attempting to rescue eight people, including six children, who were stranded in a broken cable car dangling from a single cable over a ravine on Tuesday.
The cable car got stuck midway over the ravine, hanging precariously by just one cable after the other one broke, said Shariq Riaz Khattak, a rescue official on the scene.
The cable snapped as the children went to school in a mountainous area in Battagram, about 124 miles (200 kilometers) north of Islamabad.
Pakistan's caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar ordered authorities to utilize all resources to complete the rescue operation as soon as possible.
Complex helicopter rescue underway
The complexity of the rescue operation is amplified by strong winds in the area, as well as the risk that the helicopter's rotor blades could further destabilize the lift, he added.
"It has been nearly five hours since we are stuck mid-air. The situation is so bad that one man has already fainted. A helicopter arrived but left without conducting any operations," one of the adults trapped in the chairlift told Pakistan television channel Geo News by phone.
Nervous crowds on both sides of the ravine were watching the rescue operation.
"The parents are gathered at the site of the chairlift. What can they do? They are waiting for the rescue officials to get their children out. We are all worried," the children#s headmaster Ali Asghar Khan said.
"It is going to be a highly risky mission. A slight miscalculation can result in a further disaster," rescue official Bilal Faizi said.
