At least 50 people are stuck in cable cars above the glaciers in Mont Blanc in the French Alps on Thursday night.
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More than 30 tourists, including a 10-year-old child, who were trapped overnight in cable cars thousands of metres up in the French Alps were set to reach the ground early Friday, the operators said.
Thirty-three passengers trapped in cable cars high over the slopes of Mont Blanc are being brought back to an altitude station after repairs to tangled cables were completed successfully, the cable auto operator said on Friday.
Twelve people were rescued late Thursday night because their cable cars were hanging low enough that rescue workers could get to them safely, said Iaian Cleaver, an employee of Mont-Blanc Company, which owns the cable auto service.
Several emergency workers stayed overnight with the stranded visitors to provide blankets, food, and water.
Rescue operations had to be suspended due to adverse weather conditions as night drew in.
The French Interior Ministry said it had been a delicate operation, with Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve praising the courage of French and Italian rescuers.
The cable cars connect the Aiguille de Midi peak in France, at 3,842m (12,605ft), to Pointe Helbronner in Italy, at 3,462m (11,358ft) and offer a panoramic view of Mont Blanc, the BBC reported.
The Vallee Blanche Cable Car is operated in the summer season, when large numbers of climbers and tourists converge on the area.
Thirty people in cable cars closest to the ground managed to climb down with the help of rescuers.
Passengers were transferred to other cable cars that brought them down the mountain to Courmayeur in Italy.
French police said the rescue will resume on Friday at 7.15am local time. The trip typically takes about 30 minutes.
About 60 were rescued through the evening, thanks to emergency helicopters who lowered crew members to extract passengers one by one from the cable cars, but once night fell it became too unsafe to continue the airborne mission.
Kathy Cook, a tourist from MI, who was rescued last night, said: “We were there nearly 10 hours in the cable vehicle”.
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Louis’ brother Clement, 24, told reporters how they had to shout to a Korean family in the cable vehicle next to theirs to explain to them where to find the blankets.
