'We thought we were going to die': Drone footage captures children on stranded Pakistan cable car

The drone captured video as the group of eight hung in the air before eventually being rescued

Dramatic drone footage captured the scene as six schoolchildren dangled 900ft in the air onboard a stranded cable car in Pakistan.

The group of eight people, including the children, hung high above a ravine before being rescued.

The survivors have said they repeatedly feared that they were about to die during the 16-hour ordeal.

Several of the children, who had been on their way to school on Tuesday when one of the car's cables snapped, also appealed for a school and bridge to be built in their village so they wouldn't have to ride it in the future.

New footage released on Wednesday shows the scene before the eight were pulled from the car in a daring rescue.

The drone footage shows the group stuck dangling above a ravine

One of the youngest was grabbed by a commando attached to a helicopter by rope, while others were lowered to the ground with the help of volunteers using a makeshift chairlift constructed by villagers from a wooden bed frame and ropes.

"I had heard stories about miracles, but I saw a miraculous rescue happening with my own eyes," said 15-year-old Osama Sharif, one of those rescued.

Osama was headed to school on Tuesday to receive the results of his final exam when one of the cables snapped.

"We suddenly felt a jolt, and it all happened so suddenly that we thought all of us are going to die," he said in a telephone interview.

Some of those aboard had phones and started making calls as worried parents tried to reassure the children.

"They were telling us don’t worry, help is coming," he said.

Two other survivors, Rizwan Ullah, 11, and Gul Faraz, 25, said that they would not forget the ordeal for years.

Gul said he feared while waiting for rescue that the cable car would crash to the ground and "we would die soon."

Rizwan said he doesn't want to use the cable car again, but that would only be possible if a school is built nearby.

Ata Ullah, another rescued student, said he would try to be brave the next time he has to ride one.

Watch the moment rescuers saved some of the people stranded on board the cable car

"I feel fear in my mind about using the cable car, but I have no other option. I will go to my school again when the cable car is repaired," he said.

Locally made cable cars are a widely used form of transportation in the mountainous Battagram district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Gliding across steep valleys, they cut down travel time to schools, workplaces and businesses.

But they often are poorly maintained, and every year people die or are injured while using them.

On Wednesday, police arrested Gul Zarin, the owner of the cable car, on charges of ignoring safety measures.

Thousands of people turned out to watch the risky operation on Tuesday.

At one stage, a rope lowered from a helicopter swayed wildly as a child, secured by a harness, was pulled up.

"We cried, and tears were in our eyes, as we feared the cable car will go down," Osama said.

After sunset, with the helicopters no longer able to fly, rescuers shifted tactics.

They used a makeshift chairlift to approach the cable car using the one cable that was still intact, local police chief Nazir Ahmed said.

Shouts of "God is great" erupted as the chairlift was lowered to the ground in the final stage of the operation just before midnight.

Ahmed said the children received oxygen as a precaution before being handed over to their parents, many of whom burst into tears of joy.

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