A CABLE car accident at a pilgrimage site in India has left at least one person dead and left dozens dangling in mid-air, said officials today, with a rescue operation underway using air force helicopters.

Forty-eight people were travelling along a steep incline leading up to the Trikut hills in Jharkhand when three cars crashed into one another late yesterday.

Local officials said one woman died in the collision and another was seriously injured, with almost 20 people still to be brought to safety.

“We have rescued more than two dozen people, but some are still stuck,” said a Deoghar district official at the site.

He said two tourists jumped out of their cars in panic and survived with minor injuries last night.

Authorities called in the air force to winch stranded pilgrims out of their carriages with helicopters, and to drop food and water to others awaiting rescue.

The 775m-long Trikut cable car circuit is popular with tourists and pilgrims visiting the nearby Hindu shrine of Baba Baidyanath. – AFP, April 11, 2022.