Michael V. Barile 
The death toll in the Deoghar cable car accident in Jharkhand has risen to three after a person fell from a helicopter while being airlifted on Monday night.
The accident happened on Sunday evening after two ropeways of a cable car collided on the Trikut Hills in Deoghar district of Jharkhand, even as the Indian Air Force continued its rescue operation on Monday of starred tourists.
So far, 35 people have been rescued while many still fear being trapped in the cable cars.
Earlier, at least two people were pronounced dead and several others were injured in the accident.
Acting at the request of the state government, the IAF deployed a Mi-17 helicopter and a Mi-17 V5 early in the morning. The IAF contingent also has a component of IAF Garud Commandos to conduct the operations.
“A reconnaissance was carried out by one of the helicopters in the morning and operations are underway in coordination with the district administration and the NDRF,” the air force said.
“The exact cause of the accident will only be determined after an investigation. The focus is currently on rescuing people stranded on the cable car,” sources said.
The Trikut Cable Car is one of the highest vertical cable cars and has a maximum lens angle of 44 degrees. It was built about 20 km from the Baba Baidyanath temple and is about 766 meters long. The hill of Trikut rises to 392 meters. The cable car has 25 cabins and each can accommodate four people.
Chief Minister Hemant Soren expressed deep sadness over the accident. Speaking to reporters at Ranchi airport, he said after the accident rescue and rescue operations were being carried out on a war footing. Efforts are being made by the NDRF and rescue teams to rescue people safely and the government is monitoring the situation closely.
On Monday, Jharkhand Disaster Management Minister Banna Gupta, Tourism Minister Hafizul Ansari also arrived at the scene. Local MP Nishikant Dubey, Deputy District Commissioner Manjunath Bhajantri and numerous senior officials had been at the scene since Sunday evening.
