Cable cars in French Alps stalled after a “technical incident” stranding dozens of tourists. 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.
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The ordeal began on Thursday afternoon when cables on the Panoramic Mont Blanc cable vehicle service got twisted, trapping 110 people in a string of cars at altitudes of up to 3,800 metres (12,500ft).
The cable cars became stuck in position, leaving 110 people trapped. Freelance journalist Stefan de Vries is in Paris with the latest.
“The helicopter rescue failed because the fog moved in, so we had to just wait and then they decided they could belay us safely to the ground, and we walked up the glacier to the hut”, she said upon arrival in Courmayeur.
“One blanket between two was not enough, so I got a chill”, he told Reuters. “I threw up. I wasn’t feeling good”, said one of Valery’s sons, Louis, 23. But then we got by, we exchanged our coats. “We weren’t scared, but the cold was a big problem, at least for me”, he said. “The most important thing is that we all got out”.
The family said the cars were not equipped with radios and that their mobile phones batteries quickly ran out. “They were given special survival kits including energy bars and emergency blankets”. Children aged seven and nine from South Korea and a 10-year-old from Italy were among those stranded.
The cars broke down at an altitude of 3,000 metres between the Aiguille du Midi and Helbronner peaks after cables became tangled in high winds.
Hours later, workers were able to bring down 12 more passengers, who walked to a connecting cable auto that took them to the Italian town of Courmayeur.
As fog descended and darkness started to fall on Thursday evening, authorities called off the helicopter rescue and switched to plan B, Fournier said.
The tourists rescued are understood to be French, Italian and American.
Some 77 tourists were initially rescued by helicopter, but 33 could not be, and they were forced to spend the night in the cars, The Local noted.
Five rescuers were transported to the site and spent the night with those who were trapped in cable cars.
The 33 tourists, including three children, ended an extraordinarily complex rescue effort over two days amid the spectacular but unsafe landscape.
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The cable cars can usually carry up to 140 sightseers.
