Deoghar ropeway tragedy: 3 dead, 32 rescued, 15 still trapped

The Trikut ropeway is said to be India's highest vertical ropeway. 11 people have been rescued so far and 48 are still trapped, officials said on Monday.

New Delhi: At least three people have been declared dead while several others were injured after some cable cars in a ropeway collided with each other at Trikut hills close to Baba Baidyanath Temple in Jharkhand's Deoghar district on Sunday (April 10, 2022). 

32 people have been rescued so far and 15 still lay trapped mid-air in a row of 12 ropeway cable cars, officials said on Monday morning.

According to the official, 10 tourists sustained serious injuries in the collision that occurred around 4.30 pm on Sunday, and two of them died during treatment. Both the deceased were the residents of Bihar. While one was from Darbhanga, the other one was from Madhubani.

Two Mi-17 helicopters are involved in rescue operations, the Indian Air Force (IAF) said.

झारखंड के देवघर में रोपवे हादसा, 20 घंटे से हवा में फंसी 48 जिंदगी #Jharkhand @SachinArorra pic.twitter.com/arQmQqlvlT

— Zee News (@ZeeNews) April 11, 2022

Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) are assisting in rescue operations, Deoghar Deputy Commissioner Manjunath Bhajantri said.

Bhajantri said that local villagers are also assisting the NDRF in the rescue operation.

Prima facie, the incident appears to have occurred due to a technical snag resulting in a collision of cable cars, an official said, adding, however, the exact cause is yet to be ascertained.

Both the DC and Superintendent of Police Subhash Chandra Jat are monitoring the rescue operation from the spot.

Jharkhand Tourism says that the Trikut ropeway is India's highest vertical ropeway with a maximum lens angle of 44 degrees. The ropeway, situated around 20 km from Baba Baidyanath Temple, is around 766-metres-long, while the hill is 392-metres-high.

There are 25 cabins in the ropeway and four people can sit in each cabin. 

(With agency inputs)