Indian Air Force heads Jharkhand cable car crash rescue op

The rescue operation at Jharkhand's Deogarh has been taken over by Indian Air force (IAF), where some cable cars on the Trikoot ropeway collided, leaving 48 stuck and one dead.

Some cable cars collided on a ropeway at Trikoot hills close to Baba Baidyanath Temple on April 10.

The Deoghar Deputy Commissioner (DC) Manjunath Bhajantri said, "One woman, of the 11 rescued yesterday, has been declared dead while one person is seriously injured in the ropeway cable-cars collision on Sunday. The rescue operation is still on."

As per reports, 48 people are still trapped and the IAF has been involved in the rescue operation. Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams are also present at the spot, the DC added.

The IAF received the request for the rescue of approximately 40 tourists stuck in the Trikoot Hills Ropeway Service, in the Deoghar district of Jharkhand. Acting on the request, the IAF deployed one Mi-17 and one Mi-17 V5 helicopter early in the morning on April 11.

The IAF contingent also has a component of IAF Garud Commandos for conducting the operations. A recce was conducted by one of the helicopters in the morning and operations are underway in coordination with the district administration and NDRF, as per reports.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren tweeted in the noon, "The administration, army and NDRF team are working with full readiness to rescue the people trapped in the Deoghar Trikoot ropeway accident. I am constantly monitoring the situation. Soon all will be taken out safely."

(ANI)