Deoghar (Jharkhand): When Dharmendra Bhagat, a resident of Sitamarhi, Bihar came to visit Deoghar along with his family, he would have never imagined that it would turn into such a harrowing experience. Soon after Bhagat and his wife along with nine family members started their ropeway ride they felt a huge jolt. For a moment they thought that the cable cart would slam into the ground below.
But the cable car kept on hanging. Bhagat and his family were recovering from the initial shock, they heard an announcement asking the tourists not to worry and that a helicopter had been called in to rescue them. "We felt that we would not survive and fall to our death. Then there was an announcement asking us to stay calm and telling us that choppers have been called in. But nothing could be done that day as it was already night," Bhagat told ETV Bharat.
Bhagat said such was the panic that till the time he and his family members were sitting in the IAF chopper, they thought that they would not survive. While some of his family members were rescued on Monday, some were rescued on Tuesday. The experience was equally harrowing for Rakesh Kumar, a resident of East Champaran, Bihar, who came to Deoghar for his son's tonsure ceremony. He too decided to have a ropeway ride with his family. Suddenly the cable car shook violently and the passengers fell on the floor of the car, sustaining bruises.
When the Garuda commandos came on Monday to rescue them, Rakesh asked them to give them some water otherwise it would be difficult to move them out of the cabin car. They were rescued after being provided with drinking water. Three persons lost their lives in the accident in Deoghar when a ropeway malfunctioned leaving tourists dangling in the air.
Raman Kumar Srivastava, another survivor from Darbhanga, said: "When we came to our senses, we shouted and informed the people around us. After that, with the help of the people, the ropeway staff got us down on the trolley. Everyone was badly injured and was taken to Deoghar Sadar Hospital. After the treatment, the doctors gave us permission to go home. My family and I have got a new life."
Also read: Deoghar ropeway accident: Key points
