11 killed in Murree cable car accident

E-Paper | August 02, 2026

11 killed in Murree cable car accident

Hanif Khan Turk Published June 29, 2017

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A cable car fell into a ditch Thursday morning near Murree, killing 11, rescue sources told DawnNews.

Two more individuals were being treated for critical injuries.

The injured had been shifted to Islamabad for medical treatment. Their chances of survival were slim, as the cable car had fallen from a height of 400 feet, rescuers had initially said.

According to rescuers, the cable car was being used for transportation between Sharafani in Punjab and Banwari in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The cable car was the only source of transportation between the two hilly areas as there are no roads connecting the two, they said.

Locals had reportedly set up the cable car service on a self-help basis, rescuers said.

Assistant Commissioner Murree Arifullah Khan confirmed the incident, reporting that rescue personnel have shifted the bodies from the scene of the incident.

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Huma

Jun 29, 2017 03:35pm

No maintenance of these cable cars for so long, never heard that they are closed for repair or maintenance. yet another incident of negligence.

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Jun 29, 2017 03:58pm

@Huma Really really sad. Imagine you are enjoying a trip on the cable car and suddenly you realise you are in a 400 foot free fall ! Enough to scare the hell out of anyone. There are very few survivers in such cases because of the impact and momentum of the fall. Only yesterday, 7 people died in a similar cable car crash in Gulmarg near Srinagar. As the cable car started its trip, a sudden gust of wind uprooted a tall tree in the hill close by. That tree hit another tree whose branches fell straight onto the cables, snapping them. The car fell straight down the ravine, a 1000 foot fall. All seven occupants perished, including a young tourist, his wife and two baby girls aged 3 and 5.

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azhar

Jun 29, 2017 04:03pm

there is no discipline, check or control over the quality of infrastructure developed by public or private sector. we have become one of the most accident prone nation on the face of globe. no value for human life. can anybody be held accountable in this country?

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Encore

Jun 29, 2017 04:07pm

@Huma it's not a commercial cable car that broke down.. Please read carefully..

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PK085

Jun 29, 2017 04:10pm

This is lame why giving political angle to the accident: "The cable car was reportedly being used for transportation between Sharafani in Punjab and Banwari in KP." You could have just given the village names instead of highlighting the provinces

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SANTOSH

Jun 29, 2017 04:13pm

Recently, Similar incident happened in India.

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waheed phulpoto

Jun 29, 2017 05:10pm

Very sad, God give them a grand palace in paradise

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Ayush

Jun 29, 2017 05:13pm

Same happened in India. Poor management.

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Adeel

Jun 29, 2017 05:41pm

Very Sad

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Neutral

Jun 29, 2017 06:03pm

Unfortunately in our country there is no system for anything

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Lahoree

Jun 29, 2017 06:47pm

Saddened by the loss of lives. This was not a tourist cable car though.

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Javed

Jun 29, 2017 07:57pm

inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'oon. Life is cheap, lack of maintenance is the main culprit. The same is the case with every infrastructure. Brave are the souls that venture on to these rickety gondolas.

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Ali F.

Jun 29, 2017 08:19pm

Meanwhile few other countries are preparing for driver less cars on their motorways, and we are dealing with unsafe tankers on roads and falling cable cars.

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Humanitarian APPROACH

Jun 29, 2017 09:35pm

Technical maintenance issues, the district administration or provincial govt may please bear the responsibility.

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M.Saeed

Jun 30, 2017 12:39am

It is unfortunate that a private cable car transport erected by the villagers on self help basis is being confused with the several cable cars running for the tourists. New heading is too confusing for the holiday makers.

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Sukhera

Jun 30, 2017 12:55am

The problem is we don,t maintain our equipment whether it's an aeroplane, bus, truck or a railway engine. The govt officials never tell the public what caused the accident, whether it's a human error or equipment failure. French built PIA plane travelling from Chitral to Islamabad crashed near Abbot Abad some time last year in which Junaid Jamshaid died.The cause of the crash was never reported. The Govt /PIA does not want people to know why this plane crashed so that corrective actions could be taken. We want the people who are supposed to maintain the equipment be held accountable for their negligence and charged with murder where innocent people died.

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ali ahmed

Jun 30, 2017 01:05am

Locals had reportedly set up the cable car service on a self-help basis, PMLn,MNA'S and MPA's getting million as a development funds?

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Muslim

Jun 30, 2017 02:53am

the cable car in question does not seem to be in the sphere of regulated entities. It was set up by the local themselves to reduce travel time from there remote locations. blaming the government for this is not really a prudent action.

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Khalid

Jun 30, 2017 03:38am

A very tragic incident. All infrastructure projects require permits from the local, state or federal authorities. It is an obligation on part of the permitting agency to perform inspections before renewing permits. The agency which issued the permit and people responsible for the maintenance should be investigated and held accountable.

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Anwar Amjad

Jun 30, 2017 04:23am

There are too many locally rigged up cable cars in KPK and GB which are run without proper maintenance and inspection. The government should replace them with proper bridges or cable cars to prevent such accidents.

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Bupi

Jun 30, 2017 07:14am

Due to bad management precious human lives lost?

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