Deoghar/Ranchi, Apr 12 (IANS): The death toll in Jharkhand's Deoghar cable car accident climbed to three after a person fell down from helicopter while being airlifted on Monday evening.
The accident took place on Sunday evening after two cable cars in a ropeway collided with each other at Trikut hills in Jharkhand's Deoghar district even as the Indian Air Force on Monday continued its operation to rescue starnded tourists.
So far, 35 people have been rescued while several still feared to be trapped in cable cars.
Earlier, at least two people were declared dead and several others received injured in the mishap.
Acting on the request of the state government, the IAF has deployed one Mi-17 and one Mi-17 V5 helicopter early in the morning. The IAF contingent also has a component of IAF Garud Commandos to conduct the operations.
"A recce was conducted by one of the helicopters in the morning and operations are underway in coordination with the district administration and NDRF," Air Force said.
"The exact cause of the mishap would be ascertained only after an investigation. The focus currently is on rescuing the people stuck on the ropeway," said sources.
Trikut ropeway is one of the highest vertical ropeways and has a maximum lens angle of 44 degrees. It has been built some 20 km from Baba Baidyanath Temple and is about 766-metres-long. The Trikut hill is 392-metres-high. The ropeway has 25 cabins and each can seat four people.
Chief Minister Hemant Soren has expressed deep sorrow over the accident. Talking to reporters at Ranchi airport, he said that after the accident, relief and rescue work is being carried out on a war footing. Efforts are being made by NDRF and rescue teams to rescue people safely and the government is closely monitoring the situation.
On Monday, Jharkhand's Disaster Management Minister Banna Gupta, Tourism Minister Hafizul Ansari also reached the spot. Local MP Nishikant Dubey, Deputy Commissioner of the district Manjunath Bhajantri and many high officials were present at the spot since Sunday evening.