Deoghar ropeway incident: Jharkhand HC takes suo motu cognizance, orders inquiry

More than 45 people have been rescued from cable cars that were left dangling mid-air after a malfunction of the ropeway resulted in trolley cars colliding on Sunday evening.

New Delhi: The Jharkhand High Court on Tuesday (April 12, 2022) took cognizance of the Deoghar ropeway incident and ordered an inquiry into the matter. The court will hear the matter on April 26 and before that, the state government has to file a detailed inquiry report through an affidavit, news agency ANI reported.

This comes a day after Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren announced a high-level probe into the mishap and said that the administration was keeping a close vigil on the rescue operations.

"The government is keeping a close watch on the situation," Soren had said.

Meanwhile, all the tourists have now been rescued after rescue operations resumed early on Tuesday morning. 

According to reports, as many as 47 people were rescued from cable cars that were left dangling mid-air after a malfunction of the ropeway resulted in trolley cars colliding on Sunday evening. 

Three people have died, while around 12 persons were injured and are being treated in hospitals.

Teams of IAF, Indian Army, NDRF, ITBP and local administration were involved in rescue operations.

It is noteworthy that the area which boasts of the famous Trikutachal Mahadeva Temple and the hermitage of Sage Dayananda, Trikut Hills has several peaks, with the highest Peak at a height of 2,470 feet from the sea level and around about 1,500 feet from the ground.

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

(With agency inputs)