Altogether 30 of the people trapped in mid-air in a row of ropeway cable cars for around 24 hours following an accident were rescued in Jharkhand's Deoghar district on Monday.
"18 more people are yet to be rescued," according to Jharkhand Minister Hafizul Hasan.
The tourists are stuck in cable car at the Trikut hills close to Baba Baidyanath Temple in Deoghar.
The ministeralso said that lack of of maintenance could be the reason for accident.
As rescue operation is still on the NDRF, Air Force and Indian Army are performing rescue operations. Most of the 30 passengers have been airlifted with the help of two Air Force helicopters while others were helped to land vertically.
Here's what we know so far about the incident:
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.
Around 24 hours after the accident, drones are being used to supply them with food and water.
More 18 people are still stuck in their cable cars waiting to be rescued in the sweltering heat.
Eleven of the stranded tourists were rescued last night. One of them died late at night while around 12 people suffered injuries in the collision among the cable cars that occurred at around 4 pm on Sunday at Trikut hills, around 20 kilometres from the famous Baba Baidyanth temple of Deoghar town.
Apart from NDRF, Air Force and Indian Army, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has deployed 50 security personnel from the 40th Battalion for the ongoing rescue operation.
Rescue operation is slow because these trolleys are stuck at the height of 500 to 600 feet from the ground which are not approachable from the ground, therefore they are being rescued by the IAF chopper.
Acting on the request of the state government, the IAF deployed one Mi-17 and one Mi-17 V5 helicopter early in the morning.
Expressing sorrow over the incident, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren said rescue and relief operations are being conducted on war-footing. "The government is keeping a close watch on the situation," he said.
Health Minister Banna Gupta said an enquiry will be conducted into the incident and action would be taken against those found guilty of negligence.
Meanwhile, BJP vice-president and former Jharkhand chief minister Raghubar Das accused the state government of being inactive even after such a major accident while ministers hailing from the region did not visit the site.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah is keeping an eye on the entire incident, he claimed.
He demanded that the state government provide a compensation of Rs one crore to the next of kin of the deceased and government job besides treatment of the injured at government expense.
He also demanded a high-level inquiry into the incident.
(with agency inputs)
