As the long rescue operation for the deadly cable car accident in Jharkhand finally comes to an end, a heart-warming account of selflessness in the face of disaster has come to light. Some ropeway employees saved 11 passengers' lives by risking their own, and were honoured by Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren for their aid.
"We climbed a tower with the help of a rope tied to a tyre. The cabin car was still 20 metres away. There was no other facility, we had to swing on the rope and reach the cable car. We opened the gate and then helped the passengers who were stuck with a safety belt. We tied the rope with a tyre and used it to get them down. We were not sure whether we could manage this or not. But we gathered courage and went on," staff person Govind Singh said.
"We have been working here for years. How could we have upped and left? This is our livelihood. It was the question of people's lives. They were saying, 'bhaiya, save us'."Govind Singh
"We feel good that we were able to do something," said Panna Lal, another ropeway employee.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren spoke to Panna Lal through a video conference at the Deoghar district collector's office on Wednesday, and expressed his appreciation. Panna Lal was also awarded a cheque of Rs 1 lakh by the authorities.
What Had Happened in Jharkhand?
Three 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. One woman had fallen to her death while being rescued from an airborne trolley.
The operation to rescue people stuck mid-air in Jharkhand's Trikut hills was completed on Tuesday, 48 hours after it began, Chief Minister Hemant Soren said.
The Indian Air Force (IAF), the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) had been called in for the relief efforts.
CM Soren has ordered a high-level investigation into the ropeway accident. "I express my deepest condolences on the incident on Trikut mountain and the deaths in it. There will be a high-level inquiry into the matter," he had said in a tweet.
On Tuesday, the Jharkhand High Court also asked the state to file a detailed inquiry report through an affidavit. The court will hear the matter on 26 April.
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