Jharkhand Ropeway Mishap: IAF Regrets Loss of Lives, Says 35 Rescued Under ‘Challenging Circumstances’

The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Tuesday concluded the rescue operation at Jharkhand’s Deoghar district where trolley cars collided with each other on Sunday due to a malfunction of the ropeway and several tourists got trapped mid-air in cable cars connecting the Trikut Hills in the district for about 40 hours. The IAF said it rescued 35 people by air force choppers “under very challenging circumstances” and regretted the loss of two lives during a botched helicopter rescue attempt.

Three people have died so far, including two after falling from helicopters during the rescue operation, and all the trapped tourists have been evacuated.

Issuing a statement, the air force said, “We deeply regret the loss of two lives during the operation. We have rescued 35 under very challenging circumstances. Steady hover is needed to be maintained under windy conditions. Five Garud commandos climbed onto each trolley and strapped all tourists individually. The children were carried up by Garud commandos.”

Rescue operations were conducted by the combined teams of the Indian Air Force, Army, ITBP, NDRF, and district administration.

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. Also making rescue from the ground difficult is the fact that the trolleys are suspended at heights of up to 1500 feet.

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 the 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. It is around 766-metre long.

‘Ropeway Was Shaking Violently’

A 22-year-old Ramdeo Pujhar was among those Paharia tribals who rescued eight tourists from two cable cars following an accident on a ropeway in Trikut hills. Pujhar, a member of Paharia Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), heard a loud thud around 4 PM on Sunday and screams of passengers crying for help. He, along with two other locals, broke open the trolleys and rescued the eight people who were seriously injured.

“I heard a loud thud. The ropeway was shaking violently and the passengers were screaming. I rushed to the direction of the sound. I found panic-stricken people, including two girls, screaming inside the trolleys,” he told PTI.

One of the trolleys had hit a rock on the ground, while the other was hanging six feet above the surface. The rescuers used a chair to reach the stuck passengers and then broke open the cable cars to rescue the trapped people.

Pujhar said that on hearing the screams, more Paharias from Sisanuthar village in the foothills of Trikut hills rushed to the spot. Officials concerned and police were informed and the injured admitted to hospitals. “People in all the villages in the vicinity are praying for speedy recovery of the injured,” he said, adding that he was working as a cleaner in the Damodar Ropeway and Infra Limited (DRIL), which operated the system, and was not regularly getting his paltry monthly salary of Rs 3,000.

Jharkhand CM Orders Probe

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has announced a high-level probe into the mishap. Drones were used to supply food and water to those who remain trapped mid-air in the cable cars.

The Chief Minister has announced Rs 5 lakh ex-gratia to kin of those who lost their lives in Deoghar incident.

Jharkhand Governor Ramesh Bais had said, “The accident on the ropeway built on Trikut mountain 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.”

BJP vice-president and former Jharkhand chief minister Raghubar Das had 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.

(with inputs from PTI)

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