Seventy-seven people were evacuated, including 48 who were airlifted out by helicopter and around 30 travelling in cars closest to the ground who were able to climb down with the help of rescuers.
But with darkness falling and the weather deteriorating, the rescue operation was suspended, leaving 33 tourists, one of them a 10-year-old child, forced to spend the night dangling in mid-air.
“We were in contact with them throughout the night, the people were cold” but there did not appear to be any health emergencies, the local police chief, Stephane Bozon, told AFP as the rescue operation resumed early Friday.
The prefect of the Haute-Savoie region, Georges François Leclerc, said late Thursday that rescuers were forced to stop their operation at 8:45pm as they could not “guarantee the safety of the pilots, rescuers and the people stuck in the cars”.
During the night, a team of five rescuers, three French and two Italian police officers also attempted to reach the trapped tourists.
One of the officers managed to get into a car which contained a 10-year-old child.
Those still stuck had access to emergency blankets, energy bars and bottles of water in the cars.
The incident was caused by cables that got crossed for “unknown reasons”, but a gust of wind is thought to have played a part, Dechavanne said on Thursday.
The employees of the company were not able to repair the cars, forcing an evacuation operation to begin around 5:00pm.
The cable cars connect Aiguille du Midi on the French side of the mountains with Pointe Helbronner on the Italian border, where the rescued passengers were taken.
The cable cars, which carry four passengers each, offer panoramic views of Mont Blanc, which straddles the French-Italian border.
Sourced from Agencies, Featured image courtesy: www.savoie-mont-blanc.com
