At least two people were killed after cable cars on a ropeway collided with each other at Trikut hills in Jharkhand's Deoghar district on Sunday, 10 April. Rescue operations by the Indian Air Force are underway at the site.
As many as 15 persons are still feared to be trapped mid-air, inside four ropeway trolleys. Eight of the 12 trolleys and 32 people have been rescued so far, while nine people are injured, two of them serious.
A viral video on Monday showed a man falling to his death while being rescued in a chopper, after he slips from it.
Dy Commissioner Manjunath Bhajantri confirmed that one person had died during the rescue operation but said that the identification has not been done yet.
The collision had taken place at 4:30 pm on Sunday.
Personnel of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and the National Disaster Response Force are engaged in bringing those stuck to safety. Two Mi-17 helicopters also are involved in rescue operations at the site of the accident near the Baba Baidyanath Temple.
"The people trapped during the ropeway journey on Trikut mountain are being rescued by the team of Air Force and NDRF. Till now four people have been given air lift and four people have been given vertical landing. Soon all the people will be taken out safely with everyone's cooperation," the district collector of Deoghar said.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren said, "The administration, army and NDRF team are working with full readiness to rescue the people trapped in the Deoghar Trikut ropeway accident. I am constantly monitoring the situation. Soon all will be taken out safely."
The incident appears to have occurred due to a technical snag resulting in collision of cable cars, an official was quoted as saying by news agency PTI, adding, however, the exact cause is yet to be ascertained.
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