Jharkhand ropeway mishap: IAF choppers carrying out rescue ops| Top 10 points

Rescue operations are underway to evacuate the stranded tourists on the ropeway at Tirkut hill near Deoghar district of Jharkhand. The Indian Air Force tweeted that 19 tourists had been rescued by the IAF Mi17 V5 and Cheetah helicopters and Garud commandos.

One person was killed and dozens were left stranded mid-air after 12 ropeway trollies collided with each other on Sunday afternoon, news agency PTI had reported.

Here are ten big developments in the ropeway mishap till now.

1. According to news agency PTI, 12 people were injured in the mishap which took place on Sunday. Eleven people were rescued last night.

2. Drones are being used to supply food and water to the stranded tourists.

3. A local district official told AFP that two tourists had jumped out of their cars last night in panic and survived with minor injuries.

4. The Ministry of Defence tweeted that the Indian Air Force received a request on Sunday night for the rescue of 40 tourists stuck in the ropeway. The IAF deployed one Mi-17 and one Mi-17 V5 helicopter early in the morning.

5. The ropeway was being run by a private company. Operators running it fled shortly after the accident.

6. The Trikut ropeway, according to the Jharkhand tourism department, is India’s highest vertical ropeway. It is around 766-metre long.

7. Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren said that the rescue operations are at a full swing and the government is keeping a close watch on the situation.

8. Jharkhand health minister Banna Gupta said inquiry will be conducted and those guilty won’t be spared.

9. Deoghar Deputy Commissioner Manjunath Bhajantri told PTI the mishap occurred due to fault in the ropeway system.

10. Politics has erupted over the incident, with former Jharkhand CM Raghubar Das accusing the government of being inactive. The government did not care about the lives of the people. The inability to make quick decisions resulted in passengers hanging in the air overnight,” Das said, while claiming that union home minister Amit Shah was keeping an eye on the situation.