Dozens of tourists who were trapped in cable cars dangling above the Alps overnight have all been rescued.
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But around 30 others – including a 10-year-old child – were forced to spend the night after the rescue was stopped by fog.
That was the view for 110 people trapped in cable cars Thursday afternoon.
Aiguille du Midi peak in the Mont-Blanc region.
By morning, the cable vehicle system had been repaired and the gondolas were sent into motion again.
At least three children were among 33 people who were forced to stay inside a cable auto overnight after darkness and weather conditions delayed rescue efforts late Thursday.
Louis Delisle, a 23-year-old who was on the cable vehicle with his father, Valery Delisle, told Reuters his health struggled while waiting overnight to be rescued. Freelance journalist Stefan de Vries is in Paris with the latest.
Mountain guides identified the cable cars closest to the ground, and used climbing ropes to carry passengers to the surface of the glacier below, one by one.
Helicopters had to fly over the cable, which was risky in itself, then lower rescuers on to an area “not larger than a table”, Col. Frederic Labrunye, commander of the provincial gendarmerie, told the AP. “It was just before midnight when they finally belayed us out of the gondolas which was really quite an experience”. “I threw up. I wasn’t feeling good”.
“But then we got by”. So we weren’t scared, but the cold was a big problem, at least for me.
The family said the cars were not equipped with radios and that their mobile phones batteries quickly ran out.
The 45 visitors stuck overnight in the chilly conditions were given blankets, cereal bars, and water to help stave off the elements.
“We were old enough, we had experience in mountain conditions but for them it was a little bit more complicated with their children, seven and nine years old, that anxious us”, he said.
The cable auto is a popular tourist attraction as it allows visitors to see spectacular views of the mountains. The panoramic ride over glaciers usually takes 30 minutes to complete.
Four helicopters were deployed after 110 people became stuck when the cable cars stalled because of a “technical incident”, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said.
Mr Dechavanne said the cable cars each had a survival kit with cereal bars, water and survival blankets, and that each auto was contacted by phone to explainthe situation.
More than 100 people, including several Americans, were left hanging in 36 gondolas following a malfunction between two mountains near the Chamonix ski resort.
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Journalists surround a rescued tourist who was trapped overnight in a cable auto.
