As the drama unfolded, French and Italian helicopters flew in rescuers who dropped down on cables onto the tops of the cars, and lifted out passengers one by one. One of those rescued told the local radio station France Bleu Pays de Savoie that he had “closed his eyes for a few moments to avoid looking into the void”.
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“We were in contact with them throughout the night, the people were cold”, local police chief Stephane Bozon told AFP as the rescue operation resumed.
Four helicopters were deployed after 110 people became stuck when the cable cars stalled because of a “technical incident”, interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve said. According to operators, a rescue mission is underway and the tourists will reach the ground on Friday.
Chamonix Mayor Eric Fournier said earlier on BFM television that “there’s nothing fundamentally to fear”. According to the French newspaper Le Dauphine Libere, the passengers were transported to Punta Helbronner and then continued down to the valley station via the new SkyWay cable vehicle. The cars are at an altitude of almost 12,000 feet. They included a 7-year-old and 9-year-old from Korea and a 10-year-old Italian child.
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.
Mr Dechavanne said the cable cars each had a survival kit with cereal bars, water and survival blankets, and that each vehicle was contacted by phone to explainthe situation.
The remaining 33 people were in cable cars too high off the ground, so they stayed overnight.
The first two sections of cable cars were expected to reopen at approximately 10 a.m. local time this morning, but the third section, where the tourists were stranded, is still being cleared for use and will likely not be open again for 24 hours.
“The panoramic cable cars rise to an altitude of 12,000 feet, and are operated in the summer season with large numbers of tourists and climbers”, Eleanor says.
He confirmed the rescue had been completed and said everyone who spent the night in a cable auto was now safe.
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Each cabin carries four passengers, and the 5km ride is normally meant to take 30 to 35 minutes.
