Pakistan’s army flew in a zipline adventurer to help rescue the children trapped in a cable car dangling precariously over a valley, it has emerged.

Muhammad Ali Swati, a 34-year-old adventure tourism operator specialising in thrill-seeking zipline experiences, was among several people who joined the rescue effort after army special forces had to call off their helicopter operation when it got dark on Tuesday.

Mr Swati, who is from the Beer-Kund village in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the mountainous region where the cable car got stuck, said the local administration had called him and asked him to help.

“I was summoned to aid in the rescue mission,” he told The Telegraph. “After packing my bags, I was airlifted to the site.”

When he arrived in the remote valley in Battagram, about 125 miles north of the capital Islamabad, Mr Swati said he was greeted by thousands of locals, as well as army officers and commandos.

Mr Swati and the other rescuers used ziplining equipment to reach the stricken cable car, hanging 900ft (274 metres) above the valley. 

“When I first reached the cable car, the children shouted at me out of fear,” he said. “They were scared that if the rope moved, the lift would fall.”

It took several minutes to reassure the children that they were in safe hands and they agreed to travel back down the cable to safety.

“We instructed each person, one by one, about the safety gear. Behind us, there was a protective rope tied, which the army personnel and civilians were pulling to help,” he said. 

“They were in extreme distress and clung to me like a child clings to their mother.

“Tears welled up in my eyes. I can’t express the feeling.”

Mr Swati said he was “elated” at having been able to help save the children after their 15-hour ordeal, but said the mission nearly ended in disaster.

“As I was bringing three children to safety, my left hand got trapped in a taut rope,” he said. 

Stuck high above the valley floor and with other rescuers unwittingly pulling on the rope from hundreds of feet away, Mr Swati said he almost suffered a serious injury.

“Miraculously, they momentarily slackened the rope, allowing me to free my hand,” he said.

Meanwhile, Sahib Khan, 30, whose family specialise in building cable cars in the region, also rushed to the rescue site from the nearby city of Besham, helping to rig the improvised zipline used to save the children. 

“I began my operation around 7pm after sunset and managed to bring the first child back to the ground,” he told The Telegraph.

“The most challenging task for me was to convince the children to come out of the dolly,” he said, referring to the cable car. 

“Even a small mistake at the altitude of 900ft could have put their lives in danger.”

Mr Khan has conducted several rescue operations across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

“Our family considers the rescue operation as our duty. We strive to serve humanity in this way,” he said.