Six people were successfully rescued on Friday after the supporting cable of a chairlift broke midway over the Indus River between Shangla and Torghar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Cable cars and rickety rope bridges are commonly used in the mountainous regions of KP, offering the quickest means of travel between neighbouring villages separated by deep ravines and valleys.

The chairlift, locally known as zangoo, serves as the only means for residents of Martung tehsil in Shangla and the adjacent Torghar district to cross the river. People from the same tribe reside on both sides, making the lift a vital means of commuting and transporting goods.

Torghar Deputy Commissioner Safdar Azam, who personally supervised the rescue, told Dawn.com: “The administrations in Shangla and Torghar coordinated a successful rescue operation, and the stranded passengers were safely brought back to the riverbank.”

According to Rasool Khan Sharif, spokesperson for Rescue 1122 in Shangla, the six passengers had travelled from the Kamach and Dedal areas of Nusrat Khel to Torghar.

“They became stranded in midair when one of the lift’s pulling cables broke,” Sharif told Dawn.com.

Former local nazim Haji Sultan Nabi explained to Dawn.com that the chairlift was “essential for transporting food and supplies” from Thakot in Battagram and Torghar, as Shangla’s main markets are far from the Senkarai villages.

According to Nabi, the chairlift spans approximately 600 metres in length and hangs at a height of about 300 feet over the river.

In a similar incident in 2023, a chairlift in Battagram became stuck when its cables snapped, leaving eight passengers stranded over a river.

A 14-hour rescue operation was launched to save the people — mostly students — who were trying to cross a river in the Allai tehsil of Battagram. The operation concluded late at night when all eight passengers were brought to safety.

An eyewitness told Dawn.com that one of the passengers, who had a pre-existing medical condition, was moved to a hospital for examination.

The rest of those recovered were given initial first aid at a camp set up by Rescue 1122 personnel, however, all of those rescued were said to be in good health and spirits.