Islamabad, Pakistan
CNN
—

Urgent rescue efforts are underway in Pakistan for six children and two adults trapped in a suspended elevator 900 feet above a mountainous area in the northwest of the country.

The children were on their way to school in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province when a cable car snapped at 9 am local time on Tuesday, according to Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

The authority said a helicopter arrived at the site of the cable car, which hangs 900 feet (274 meters) above the ground.

Earlier, a local government official said eight children were trapped with adults at an altitude of 1,200 feet (365 metres).

The elevator connects two communities in the area, and it works on two cables, one of which was cut off, according to the rescue official, Bilal Ahmed Faizi.

Pakistan’s interim Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar has ordered all “dilapidated and non-compliant elevators” to be closed immediately, according to a statement from his office.

Many children living in remote and mountainous areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa rely on cable cars to get them to school and back. Some of these places lack regular maintenance and can be a risky form of travel.

This is a developing story. More is coming…