The tourists were part of a larger group who were left suspended at an altitude of 3,800m, above Mont Blanc, when the cars’ cables became tangled and the cabins stopped moving on Thursday night.
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The remaining 33 people trapped overnight in cable cars over Europe’s highest mountain brought to safety, the ride’s operator says.
The cable cars offer tourists a panoramic view of Mont Blanc.
Emergency workers scrambled at first light this morning to rescue 33 people, including one child, trapped in cable cars high over the slopes of Mont Blanc, the cable auto operator said. They alerted authorities and French and Italian mountain rescue specialists were brought by helicopter to evacuate the cars.
In a statement supplied to BuzzFeed News, cable vehicle operator Compagnie du Mont-Blanc said that the incident happened as a result of the haulage cable and the suspension cable becoming crossed, which can occur as part of a sudden stop or in strong winds.
Helicopter crews managed to extract 65 of the trapped people in a delicate rescue operation.
The 45 visitors stuck overnight in the chilly conditions were given blankets, cereal bars, and water to help stave off the elements.
Emergency workers had scrambled at first light to rescue the stranded people, who included a child, after the ride jammed on Thursday.
The rescue operation involved four helicopters including from Switzerland, France and Italy.
According to worldwide media, helicopters were used to rescue 48 people and about 30 in cars closest to the ground were able to climb down.
The cable cars joined the mountains of Aiguille du Midi and Pointe Helbronner at an altitude of nearly 10,000 feet.
The Vallee Blanche Cable Car, used by a 500,000 sightseers a year, connects the famed Aiguille du Midi peak in France to the Punta Helbronner in Italy and normally takes 30-35 minutes.
“This worked in two places, but unfortunately not in the third, and taking into account the fact that time was passing and in line with procedures, we made a decision to alert our emergency services to carry out a helicopter rescue”, he said.
The problem was reportedly caused by cables that got crossed for “unknown reasons”.
The employees of the company were not able to fix the cars, forcing an evacuation operation to begin around 5pm.
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Another passenger recalls the few minutes she and those she was traveling with became stuck before they were returned to safety, admitting that they had no idea if the cable vehicle was meant to stop for that long, as it was their first time on one.
