Risky business: Boy feared dead in cable car fall

He was crossing Ushu River with his friend in a cable car when its supporting cable snapped.

KALAM: A young boy is feared to have drowned after falling from a cable car in Kalam, Swat on Wednesday.

According to residents of Koknail, two boys, identified as Amir Zeb and Fazal Ghaffar, were crossing Ushu River in a cable car to get to their village on Wednesday when a supporting cable snapped. As a result, both Zeb and Ghaffar fell into the gushing river below. Locals were able to rescue Ghaffar from the river but they could not find 12-year-old Zeb and a search for him is under way.

Residents said the only bridge in the area was washed away in the 2010 floods and, despite their constant demands, has not been reconstructed by the government. This is why locals are forced to use cable cars and makeshift bridges to cross rivers.

Incidents of cable car accidents have become frequent in upper Swat where thousands of manual cable cars are operated to cross rivers and streams.

In another incident, a woman committed suicide by jumping into the Swat River at Ashuran area of Kalam on Wednesday.

According to residents, Khaista Bibi, who belonged to Ashuran village, jumped into the river over unknown reasons. Her body was recovered by residents from the river and police are investigating the case.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 26^th, 2014.